About The Book Foundation
The Book Foundation program was launched in 2014 by former Hollywood producer and social entrepreneur, Ruth Stalford. To create a more equitable society, the idea was simple; get new books into the hands of children in underserved areas. The research was clear, children growing up in homes with no books are “on average” three years behind children in homes with lots of books. And in low-income areas the ratio of books to children is 1 to 300. Literacy is the key to opening doors and creating opportunity.
The work of the Book Foundation program was simple, direct and immediate. Ruth's passion was contagious, and like-minded organizations quickly wanted to partner with The Book Foundation. One of Ruth's pet peeves in the non-profit world has always been duplication of effort. So her goal early on became to partner with organizations who were best of breed, and where The Book Foundation could provide incremental impact and thus enhance each other’s programs.
“Kids with access to their own books have significantly higher reading scores than children without books.”
— CALIFORNIA CHILD WELFARE CO-INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP