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Wish Granted
Fort Worth ISD’s Bruce Shulkey Elementary School is receiving hundreds of books, thanks to Whataburger and nonprofit social enterprise First Book.
The school is a Book Wish grand prize winner and will be recognized by Whataburger and First Book with a western-themed Reading Roundup celebration, Wednesday September 4. Whataburger employees will deliver 85 copies of the 2019-2020 Texas Bluebonnet Award winning book “El Chupacabras” by Adam Rubin to the campus. Additionally, the school receives a gift certificate good for purchasing additional books from the First Book Marketplace that will support Shulkey’s Reading is Fundamental program which ensures all students receive free books for their home libraries. Total, the school will receive $4,500 worth of new books and resources.
Third graders are invited to read in small groups with Whataburger employees at the Sept. 4 Reading Roundup celebration and will receive a copy of “El Chupacabras” to take home.
Lisa Wagoner, the librarian at Shulkey Elementary, applied for the Book Wish grant last October, and her campus is one of two grand prize winners in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The grant is an initiative between Whataburger and First Book in which Whataburger is giving 70 $1,000 First Book Marketplace grants to D-FW educators to support their program’s book needs.
“There’s no better way to instill the love of reading than putting a great book in a child’s hands,” said Vanessa Tritten, Shulkey Elementary principal. “Thank you, Ms. Wagoner for applying for this amazing grant and we are so appreciative to Whataburger and First Book for their giving spirit to our community.”
Ms. Wagoner said the upcoming celebration reinforces literacy, the importance of reading aloud, discussion and book ownership. She said she’s hopeful this motivates students to read more and do their best academically.
“This program will be so beneficial to our students, and they will remember it for years to come,” Ms. Wagoner said. “We are so grateful to Whataburger and First Book for their generosity and willingness to positively impact literacy in our community.”
Founded in 1992, First Book is a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit social enterprise dedicated to creating equal access to quality education. Over its 27-year history, First Book has distributed more than 185 million books and educational resources to children in need.
Whataburger, a Texas staple, is a made-to-order burger establishment founded in Corpus Christi in 1950. For over 60 years, it’ supported multiple causes, including children’s education, with donations, sponsorships and volunteer work.
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