The Leon Levine Foundation Commits $10 Million to Advance Early Literacy in Underserved North Carolina Communities

February 4, 2026

Originally published on leonlevinefoundation.org

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Thousands of families in North Carolina’s most economically distressed counties will soon have more access to books and literacy supports through $10 million in two new grants from The Leon Levine Foundation. The multi-year investments will expand the work of three trusted nonprofit partners—Reach Out and Read North Carolina, Book Harvest, and North Carolina Partnership for Children, backbone agency for Smart Start—bringing proven early literacy programs to families in dozens of underserved communities and putting more North Carolina children on the path to kindergarten readiness.

The grants aim to fill a critical gap. In North Carolina, only 33% of children are ready for kindergarten when they walk through the door. In underserved counties, the statistics are worse. Research suggests that early exposure to books and regular shared reading can improve early literacy skills and academic performance. However, more than 60% of low-income families nationwide report they have no children’s books at home. These grants will bring books to many of those families, meeting them where they are—hospital birth centers, pediatric and family medicine clinics, and in their homes.

The funding helps to layer these early literacy programs together within Tier 1 counties, the 40 counties the North Carolina Department of Commerce deems most distressed, creating a continuum of support for children and their caregivers. The result: a child could receive a library of at least 85 new books by their fifth birthday. This helps caregivers build early reading routines during a child’s most critical period of brain development.

“We believe every child can arrive at kindergarten ready to excel when they have the right tools and support,” Tom Lawrence, president and CEO of The Leon Levine Foundation, said. “We know that quality early childhood experiences are the building blocks of opportunity. By strengthening the bond between parent and child through reading, we are fostering the cognitive and emotional development essential for a lifetime of success and self-sufficiency.”

Breaking Down the Impact:

Reach Out and Read North Carolina

• $5 million over five years to expand a proven, national children’s early relational health program within North Carolina’s most economically distressed counties.

• Aims to reach 200,000 children annually in Tier 1 counties by 2030 across 145 pediatric clinics.

• Through routine well-child visits from birth to five years old, primary care providers will encourage shared reading and provide new books, integrating literacy promotion into the standard of care for young children.

Book Harvest, in partnership with the Smart Start Network

• $5+ million over five years for Book Harvest’s Books from Birth program, with a goal of providing books to every family of a newborn at four hospitals serving Tier 1 counties around the state. The participating hospitals will be selected in the coming months.

• Aims to reach 16,000 families with newborns at participating hospitals through a dual-enrollment in Books from Birth and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a program administered by the Smart Start Network.

• Enrolled families will receive a starter library of 10 books through Books from Birth and receive monthly books by mail until age five through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

• These grants are part of The Leon Levine Foundation’s Book Abundance strategy, a long-term initiative to promote literacy-rich environments and strengthen kindergarten readiness across the Carolinas by investing in trusted, community-centered programs that reach families early and often.

What Our Partners are Saying:

“This investment will allow us to deepen our work in communities where the need is greatest,” Amber Pierce, Reach Out and Read NC state director, said. “By embedding our model into pediatric primary care, we are leveraging the medical home to promote literacy, strengthen caregiver-child relationships, and support healthy development from birth.”

“This transformative grant from The Leon Levine Foundation accelerates a vision we believe North Carolina can lead: making book ownership from birth part of the standard of care for families throughout this country,” Ginger Young, founder and CEO of Book Harvest, said. “With TLLF’s investment, Book Harvest will partner with hospitals to provide thousands of newborns with a Books from Birth starter home library of 10 new board books. Together, we’re building a model that’s practical, scalable, and rooted in joy so more children can enter school ready to learn, and more parents feel equipped from the very beginning.”

“This partnership helps ensure that more families can start their child’s learning journey with access to books and trusted support,” Amy Cubbage, president of NC Partnership for Children, said. “By reaching families at birth and staying connected through early childhood, we are laying the foundation for stronger readers, stronger relationships, and stronger communities.”