Wichita State University and the United Way of the Plains are working together again on a program that involves college basketball fans and a program to support childhood literacy.
The partnership will support the Champions for Literacy program, a national effort to bring fans and teams together to help provide books to children.
WSU will host designated Champions for Literacy games when the women’s team takes on Rice University on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 2 p.m., and the men’s team challenges the University of Alabama at Birmingham on Thursday, Feb. 27, at 8 p.m. Both games will be hosted at Koch Arena.
According to data from the Kansas Department of Education, 77% of Wichita third graders were not reading proficiently during the 2023-2024 school year.
A fundraising goal of $15,000 has been set to help fund United Way’s local literacy programs, provide reading resources and gift new books to kindergarten through third grade students at Title I schools in the Shocker neighborhood. A $10 donation will provide two new books to help a student fight summer learning loss.
All funds in the program will stay local. In 2024, a total of 5,800 books were delivered to 2,900 students, with each receiving two books along with resources for parents to help with improving their child’s reading skills. United Way of the Plains and Shocker Nation hope to reach even more students with this year’s initiative.
