Did you know that The Toys for Tots has a Literacy Campaign? Neither did I! I was asked to find a local celebrity with my blogger friend Alicia from Making Time for Mommy to host a local story time at The UPS Store. The Literacy Program is trying to battle the “summer slide” in children.

According to the National Summer Learning Association, children can lose up to three months of what they’ve learned during the school year over summer break.  This “summer slide” can be even more devastating to children in lower-income families where reading scores are disproportionately affected and access to books during the summer is limited.

To help raise awareness of childhood illiteracy as well as funds to purchase books for children in need, for every online print job customers submit during the month of May, Mail Boxes Etc., Inc. (MBE), franchisor of The UPS Store, will purchase a book for a less-fortunate child.  MBE will donate up to $20,000 worth of books to the Toys for Tots Literacy Program.  Each book is valued at $5.

The UPS Store has so many different printing options. I had no idea. I always think of The UPS Store as a shipping place. The kids and I put together an informational flyer to pass out at the event. My son drew a picture of a lady reading books to kids. On the back we included the information about the Toys for Tots Literacy Campaign to pass out to all that came.  I took my son’s picture and scanned it into the computer and threw together the flyer. My intent was to send it in online to get it printed but I kept putting it off and then realized it was too late to get it printed online and get it in time for the event. Submitting and printing through The UPS Store is simple. Just keep in mind that you need 24 hours for your print job or you need to contact the store to make sure they can get it done in time. I think it’s so awesome that The UPS Store is donating a book for every online print job sent in! They can print posters, growth charts, canvas prints from your pictures; you think of it and they can get it done! Mike was our manager at the store and he was extremely helpful and excited that we chose his store for our story time.

We had Melisa Wells, author of Chicken in the Car and the Car Won’t Go, come read to our children. Melisa was so excited to come and she captured the attention of all the children. The cookies and juice boxes helped a lot as well. She read probably five books to the kids and none of them got antsy until the last one.  I wish I could remember all the books she read, because some of them were funny.

Not only does the store donate a book for every online print job, but they take in store donations as well.  (Those are not all my children shown below donating.) Between the three of my kids, they donated $10 to the campaign from taking out of their charity funds, from their spending money and just money they’ve found laying around the house. As my kids earn allowance, 10% of their income is put aside for charity, 10% to “income tax”, 20% savings and the rest is spending money. The oldest always seems to feel good after giving money. The other two don’t get it yet.

We really had a good time at the event. I wish more people could have made it, but the traffic on the way to the store was horrible at that time of the day. I had a friend text to say she couldn’t make it in time because of traffic.

This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias #ToyforTotsLiteracy. While this post is compensated, all opinions are my own.