First Book of Martin and St. Lucie County's First Annual "Literacy Rescues Lives"

Fundraiser to provide brand new books for children in Martin and St. Lucie Counties

Stuart (Date) - First Book of Martin and St. Lucie Counties is holding the first annual Literacy Rescues Lives fundraiser at the City of Stuart Fire Rescue Station 1 on Saturday, December 5, 2009 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.Stuart Fire Rescue Station 1 is located at 800 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Stuart, FL 34994. The event is FREE to the public.

Santa Claus will arrive on the city's new Quint Fire Truck at 10:30 a.m. and will be available to visit with children until noon, followed by a book reading by Santa about fire safety at noon.

City of Stuart Fire Rescue staff will give tours of emergency transportation vehicles, provide games and fire safety demonstrations to the public from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be activities for school-aged children and a bounce house.

Prizes donated by Lindsey Potter Photography, Joseph Keith Photography, Stitch-N-Time Embroidery, Power Yoga * Moving Meditation, Wildfowler Decoys, Key West Imports, and a luxury perfume valued at $200 will be up for raffle. Baked goods and drinks from Tiki 2 Go will be available for purchase. All proceeds from the event will benefit First Book of Martin and St. Lucie Counties.

First Book of Martin and St. Lucie Counties is part of First Book's national network of volunteer-led Advisory Boards who provide new books to children in communities across the country. Comprised of volunteers from all sectors of the community, First Book of Martin and St. Lucie Counties works to promote and facilitate the distribution of new books to children of literacy programs on the TreasureCoast.

Research shows that the single strongest indicator of a child's future reading ability is the number of age-appropriate books in the home. Yet access to books is almost non-existent for children living in poverty. A recent study found that in middle-income families there is an average of 13 books for every child, compared to just one book for every 300 children in low-income neighborhoods. First Book addresses this crisis at its root by providing new books directly to children in need through community-based programs already serving these families.

If you would like to make a cash, raffle, or baked goods donation, or learn how you can get involved in First Book, please send an email to treasurecoast_fl@firstbook.org. Please make checks payable to First Book of Martin & St. Lucie Counties and mail them to: PO Box 1217Palm City, FL34991.

About First Book

First Book provides new books to children in need addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy - access to books. An innovative leader in social enterprise, First Book has distributed more than 65 million free and low-cost books in thousands of communities. First Book now has offices in the U.S. and Canada. For more information please visit www.firstbook.org.