Caktuz, in association with the High Point NC chapter of Nat’l Community & Service, collected over 5000 donated books in the MLK jr. Dream Big Book Drive. After going national, the number of books collected in North Carolina were matched by outside organizations in other states.

On average, children in economically poor communities have 1-2 age-appropriate books in their homes. 61% of low-income families have no age-appropriate books in their homes for their children. The home environment-specifically the availability of reading material- is a stronger predictor of later academic achievement than socio-economic status.

Inability to read is linked to poverty, dependence on welfare, unemployment and crime. There is almost a 90% probability that a child will remain a poor reader at the end of the 4th grade, if the child is a poor reader at the end of the 1st grade. 37% of all 4th grade children in the U.S. are functionally illiterate. The gap is widening between the reading skills of the highest and lowest performing students. The best students are reading better while the worst students are falling further behind. Access to printed materials has been found to be the critical variable effecting reading acquisition.

When children create a character, they are learning empathy. When they plot a story, they are learning strategic thought. When they invent what might happen next, they are developing their imaginations. When they are putting one word in front of the next, they are understanding deeply their language and finding their own voice.

Empathy. Strategic thought. Imagination. Language. Voice. Regardless of a child’s path in life—into the sciences or business, the arts or politics—these elements will go into every worthwhile endeavor they undertake in their lives.

The MLK “DREAM BIG” BOOK DRIVE is an initiative to increase literacy and reading materials for the black diaspora, to which Dr. King referred to as ‘Building of the beloved community’.