The Uprise Books Project
Vancouver, WA
www.uprisebooks.org
The Uprise Books Project was founded in 2011 with a very simple mission: to encourage underprivileged teens to read by providing them with new banned and challenged books.
Why banned and challenged books? There are a couple of big hurdles when it comes to getting teens to read. Simply getting kids access to books is the first step, but just giving teens books isn't enough. Between family obligations, below-standard reading skills, and an environment that discourages anything close to intellectual activities, many disadvantaged teens need a better reason to read than simply being told "it's good for you."
The folks at Uprise believe that the "forbidden fruit" angle could provide that motivation. Anyone who's ever been a teenager knows that one of the best ways to pique their curiosity about something is to tell them they aren't allowed to know about it, so why not use that trait for good? Judging by the feedback Uprise has received after giving books to a few hundred teens, they think they just might be onto something.