Barbara Bush Foundation Makes Big Push for Literacy
In honor of the former first lady’s 100th birthday year, the foundation this week launched the yearlong Barbara Bush Centennial campaign.
When Barbara Bush decided to advocate for family literacy it was a choice the former first lady knew would help empower people to overcome their own adverse circumstances. Only six years after her death, that vision has sharpened as research shows a persisting literacy crisis across the country.
In what will be Barbara Bush’s 100th birthday year in 2025, the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy Wednesday launched a yearlong campaign, the Barbara Bush Centennial, Celebration of Reading event at the Lotos Club in New York City where Lauren Bush Lauren, founder and CEO of FEED and granddaughter of Barbara Bush interviewed actor, model and author Brooke Shields about her forthcoming book Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old.
“Literacy is opportunity. The ability to read, write and comprehend allows us to navigate life with purpose and dignity—something that every single person deserves,” said Brooke Shields in a news release. “As a longtime advocate for education, I’m honored to partner with the Barbara Bush Foundation to raise support for their life-changing work, which is making a lasting impact on families nationwide.”
The event was emceed by Ali Velshi, host of MSNBC’s “Velshi,” and featured other appearances by authors Jessamine Chan, who wrote The School for Good Mothers, and Kirsten Miller, who wrote Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books and The Change.
The need for literacy skills is just as prevalent as it was when Mrs. Bush launched the foundation more than 35 years ago, Andrew Roberts, president of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, tells East Wing Magazine.
“There are many critical priorities in our country today, but at the top of the list is the urgent need to ensure that more children and families have the literacy skills necessary to achieve a better life,” Roberts said. “Our nation’s continued economic growth, development, and prosperity will be directly tied to our collective ability to provide more children and families with the resources and support they need.”
Nearly two-thirds of fourth graders in the United States read below grade level and more than 54% of American adults read below the adult equivalent of a sixth-grade level, which impacts their ability to earn family sustaining wages and society at-large, according to the foundation. A Gallup study commissioned by the Barbara Bush Foundation determined that helping all adults reach a sixth-grade equivalent reading level would generate an additional $2.2 trillion—or 10% of GDP—annually, Roberts said.
The foundation expects the Centennial celebration to produce outcomes like raising awareness of the current literacy challenge through events and literacy engagement activities across the country.
“We’ll be providing resources that show how families and communities can engage together to build literacy skills in adults and kids,” Roberts said.
Also in the works, according to Roberts, is a first-of-its kind initiative: the Barbara Bush Foundation National Family Literacy Network, which will help the foundation elevate literacy work happening across the country through best practices, sharing learnings and strengthening organizations that are on the ground and in communities.
“By empowering individual programs and communities, who then share their successes with others, we aim to create a ripple effect that ultimately increases access to high-quality literacy programs for millions of Americans in need,” Roberts said.
Former First Lady Barbara Pierce Bush, born on June 8, 1925, established the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy in 1989, shortly after the inauguration of her husband, President George H.W. Bush, and remained actively involved in the foundation’s mission until her passing on April 17, 2018, at the age of 92.
Over the course of 2025, the Barbara Bush Centennial will include a series of Celebration of Reading events in Miami, Florida, Kennebunkport, Maine, Dallas, Texas, and Washington, D.C.; special initiatives highlighting Barbara Bush’s extraordinary life and legacy; and the launch of new family literacy programming.
“And, of course, we aim to raise funds to support literacy programming across the country for communities who need it the most. Our work does not happen without the generous support of corporate, foundation, and individual supporters,” Roberts said. “We know that we can’t end the literacy crisis alone.”
TODAY’s Read with Jenna book club will participate in the series of Celebration of Reading events, which will feature select appearances by Jenna Bush Hager, television personality and granddaughter of the former first lady.
“My grandmother had an enormous influence on my love of reading. She taught me that the written word has incredible power to change hearts and minds,” said Hager in a press release.
First Lady to Receive White House Christmas Tree
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will receive the official White House Christmas Tree on Monday at the White House.
The first lady will welcome the tree alongside military-connected families, the White House announced on Thursday. The tree also represents the resilience of Christmas tree farmers and communities across western North Carolina affected by Hurricane Helene that struck the region in September, the White House said in a press release.
The tree is a 20-foot Frasier Fir from Newland, North Carolina, and it will stand floor to ceiling in the Blue Room of the White House. Every year, the room’s chandelier is removed to accommodate the tree’s full height.
This year’s tree will be presented to the First Lady by the Cartner Family of Cartner’s Christmas Tree Farm, the 2024 grand champion grower in the National Christmas Tree Association’s annual contest.
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