Ravens Bookmobile Gives 300 Kids Free Books
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- As a new school year begins, the Baltimore Ravens are helping area students discover the importance of reading.
The Ravens didn't get to have 643 yards of total offense in their season-opening victory against the Miami Dolphins without reading the defense, but it's not just reading the field that's important.
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That's why staff joined the Ravens Bookmobile Monday -- to teach kids the power of reading.
The bookmobile set up at the Webster Kendrick Boys and Girls Club, handing out new and gently-used books to low-income children who may not otherwise have access to those resources.
Three hundred kids got an hour to pick two books to call their very own.
"My favorite part about reading is understanding the meaning. I write the main idea down and I usually just read it," 10-year-old Javon Morgan said.
The program, created in 2016, is funded by the Ravens Foundation and owned and operated by the Maryland Book Bank.
Since then, it's allowed the book bank to give out more than three times as many books as it used to, said Heather Darney with the Ravens' community relations team.
"Kids get so excited to just be able to pick out what they want," she said.
The Ravens have delivered more than 30,000 books to children throughout Baltimore.
Teachers at Callaway Elementary School also got supplies from the Ravens All Community Team.