Spread the Word is a week-long student-to-student book exchange designed to boost literacy among disadvantaged children by providing them with much needed reading material.   The program encourages children with books they no longer read to give them to children without access to books.

Children cannot learn to read if they have nothing to read. Studies show that low-income children often have little or no access to reading material at home. Ownership of books is a critical factor in every child's intellectual development. Young children who own books read them over and over again, memorizing the stories and learning to follow and identify the words on each page.

While our public schools and libraries are essential centers of learning, children must be encouraged to read books at home to develop true literacy skills. Children must learn not to be intimidated by books and reading, but that they can own their own book and read it at their own pace. In low-income households, books are usually last on the shopping list, so too many children often live in homes without one book to read.

Other children, however, are fortunate enough to have a large collection of books. As they grow out of one age range of books, they often sit unread on bookshelves. Spread the Word encourages children with books they no longer read to give them to children without access to books. This child-to-child/family-to-family book exchange promotes charity, giving and literacy among all children.

Spread the Word activities:

• In 2002 through 2006, Governor Owens declared one week a year  Spread the Word week in Colorado.
• From 2002 to 2006, Spread the Word collected and distributed 192,000 books to 42,000 children in 85 schools, and to 12 community groups who serve underprivileged children.
• The 2007 Spread the Word book drive will be held the week of October 1st to 7th.
• Books for the 2007 drive will be collected at metro-area locations and participating elementary schools.
• We invite your school or organization to donate gently used children’s books to children who do not have reading material in their homes.  Please contact Alana Sheffield at 303-860-0160 about how you can participate in this exciting giving opportunity.
• Students will receive approximately five books each to take home and keep.  Remaining books are distributed to additional elementary schools and non-profit organizations.
• Volunteers from Washington Mutual and other organizations will help sort the collected books by grade level before they are distributed to participating elementary schools.
• The two schools that donate the most books will be given a $1,000 library grant.
• Spread the Word 2006 is supported by Washington Mutual, Phyllis M. Coors, and the Post-News Community.