RICHMOND, Va. — There’s something magical about choosing your own book. And Thursday, that magic was alive and well at Fairfield Court Elementary School, where the joy of reading filled the air — and the hands of eager young learners.
Thanks to the generosity of our CBS 6 viewers and the continued support of the Scripps Howard Fund, every student at Fairfield Court Elementary took home five free books to begin or expand their very own home libraries.
It’s all part of the annual “If You Give a Child a Book” campaign — an initiative that raises money each year so children at Title I schools can build a love of reading right at home. And it’s working: since Fairfield joined the campaign three years ago, the school has seen literacy scores rise steadily — including a 20-point jump this past year.
As excited third-graders streamed into the library after the big announcement, one young scholar, Da’Marrcus, reminded us why books matter.
“It’s important to read chapter books. Not only it could keep you not a word, but it could tell you about something… the author can always have a lesson,” he said thoughtfully.
When asked if he’d read one to his grandfather, Da’Marrcus added, “I mean, he is 74. He hasn’t read in a long time, I’m pretty sure… Yeah.”
Meanwhile, fellow third-grader Aubriel took her time selecting just the right titles. She explained her strategy:
“Because if you rush… then later when you sort out the books, you got books that you don’t like. So you gotta find books that you do like. That’s why you gotta take your time.”
CBS 6 Evening News anchors Bill Fitzgerald and GeNienne Samuels were there to help students at Fairfield Court pick out their fives books Thursday.
And then this evening during the 6pm newscast, they revealed some exciting news: Thanks to donations from the CBS 6 viewers, colleagues, and incredible partners — Renewal by Andersen of Central Virginia and Sands Anderson — this year’s campaign raised over $52,000.
That means CBS 6 hit its goal: therefore, a third Title I school, Frances McClenney Elementary, will now join the campaign and receive their own book fair!
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.
