HGTV Designer Sabrina Soto Helps Target Honor Veterans and Their Families with New Books, Technology and Eco-Friendly Designs at Local Military Post School
Students, families and staff from Manor View Elementary located in Fort Meade, along with Target® (NYSE:TGT), The Heart of America Foundation® and Sabrina Soto, HGTV Designer and Target Home Style Expert, will celebrate the unveiling of the school’s newly renovated library and Teachers’ Resource Room. The transformation is part of the Target School Library Makeovers program and includes 2,000 new books, new design elements, technology upgrades – including 50 audio books donated by Playaway – and customized wall art. In addition, each student and his or her sibling/s will receive seven new books to take home and add to their at-home collection. In honor of Veterans Day, a celebration will be shared on Nov. 11 with the military families from the post, as well as deployed military parents overseas via live video chat.
“Ninety-five percent of the students at Manor View are from military families and many of them are uprooted during the school year as their families’ needs change due to relocation and deployment,” said Fort Meade Installation Commander, Colonel Daniel Thomas. “A new library for our school will provide current and future students with a space to learn and grow, and the resources they need to succeed.”
As a part of Target School Library Makeovers, the company is donating more than $7 million in 2010 to complete a total of 32 extreme library makeovers. The program also includes Book Awards worth $500 to schools across the country. Manor View Elementary’s new library marks the conclusion of this year’s program.
“Thanks to Target and The Heart of America Foundation, our students will have access to a much richer range of tools to develop and succeed academically,” said Anita Dempsey, principal, Manor View Elementary. “We’re honored to be one of the 32 schools nationwide to receive a library makeover. The faculty and students are thrilled to be receiving a refurbished learning space with thousands of new books.”
Through programs such as Target School Library Makeovers, Target plans to donate more than $500 million by the end of 2015 to support education, doubling its support to-date for a total of more than $1 billion. This financial commitment is one component of Target Read With MeSM, an initiative aimed at helping more U.S. children read proficiently by the end of third grade. Target Read With Me also includes a reading pledge, a donation of up to two million books to kids in need and plans for an innovative reading center that will have a physical and virtual presence. The reading pledge can be accessed at Target.com/reading, via mobile Web browsing or by texting “READ” to Target (827438). Attendees at the Manor View Elementary library unveiling will be able to take the Target Read With Me pledge at one of the kiosks onsite.
“At Target, we recognize the integral role that reading plays in shaping a child’s future, which is why we launched Target Read With Me and fund programs such as Target School Library Makeovers,” said Laysha Ward, Target’s president of community relations. “Through the Target School Library Makeovers program, students are given the resources they need to read and learn so that their educational futures know no boundaries.”
In addition to Manor View’s new library, an adjacent Teachers’ Resource Room designed by Sabrina Soto will be unveiled. Teachers, students and parents will use this room as a hub for reading and math homework assistance. “My grandfather and uncle served in the military, so being a part of a project that serves the Fort Meade community is an honor. Thanks to everyone’s hard work, we’re creating a space that is stylish and functional, and will provide an inspirational learning environment for students, as well as their parents and teachers,” Soto said.
Target also is supporting schools in other military communities across the country. In partnership with The Mission Continues, Target and volunteer veterans will participate in 11 Veterans Day events in military communities nationwide. More than 5,000 students and 700 volunteer veterans will be impacted by the efforts, which were developed following a study conducted in 2009 by Target and The Mission Continues that illustrates the positive impact volunteering has on veterans who are in the process of transitioning from military to civilian life.
About Target
Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) serves guests at 1,752 stores in 49 states nationwide and at Target.com. Target is committed to providing a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to unique and highly differentiated products at affordable prices. Since 1946, the corporation has given five percent of its income through community grants and programs, like Take Charge of Education. Today, that giving equals more than $3 million a week. For more information about Target’s commitment to corporate responsibility, visit Target.com/hereforgood.
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About The Heart of America Foundation
The Heart of America Foundation (www.heartofamerica.org), a national nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., uniquely combines volunteerism and literacy. The organization’s focus is to provide children in need with the tools to read, succeed and make a difference. The Heart of America Foundation puts books into the hands of children who need them the most, while transforming school libraries in underserved communities into vital and vibrant centers of learning that become the heart of the schools. Since 1997, the organization has provided children living in poverty with over almost two million library and take-home books, and has engaged volunteers in more than one million hours of service to the community.
About The Mission Continues
About The Mission Continues
The Mission Continues is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in St. Louis. The organization’s mission is to build an America where every returning veteran can serve again as a citizen leader, and where together we honor the fallen by living their values through service. For more information about The Mission Continues please visit www.missioncontinues.org.