Levar Burton's "Reading Rainbow" tops $1M Kickstarter goal in 11 hours
There's gold at the end of the rainbow for LeVar Burton.
A Kickstarter campaign led by the actor and literacy activist to help with his "Reading Rainbow" online reboot topped its $1 million donation goal on Thursday, less than 24 hours after the campaign was officially launched.
The crowdfunding goal was reached with 34 days still left to go in the campaign, which has so far landed over $1.75 million in donations from more than 38,000 backers.
Burton hosted the long-running PBS TV series, which inspired scores of young readers, from 1983-2006.
The "Roots" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" actor later bought the rights to the franchise and launched a mobile app edition of the series in 2012. The current Kickstarter campaign is designed to help bring the interactive version of "Reading Rainbow" to impoverished classrooms and needy students who might not otherwise have access to the app.
Backers who contribute $10,000 or more can have Burton speak at a local school assembly, or get a chance to have dinner with the actor in Los Angeles and don the actual "VISOR" he wore on the "Star Trek" series. As Burton always used to say on "Reading Rainbow," don't take my word for it -- donations and reward packages can be seen here.
The Kickstarter campaign officially ends on July 2 at 3 p.m. ET.
