Room to Read is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing under-privileged children in the developing world with the opportunity to gain the lifelong gift of education.

The organization was founded on the belief that education is the key to break the cycle of poverty and take control of one's own life. We currently focus our efforts on Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam - countries with a desperate lack of resources to educate their children.

Room to Read seeks to intervene early in the lives of children to provide them with an education and the lifelong gift of literacy.

Our successful four-pronged approach to the problem of rural education consists of:

• Partnering with communities to build schools;
• Establishing libraries and filling them with new English-language books and local language books published by Room to Read;
• Providing computer and language labs to improve life skills; and
• Providing scholarships for under-privileged young girls.

To increase the likelihood for success, Room to Read enlists community involvement in our projects. Our "challenge grants" require that villages/communities raise a significant portion of the overall expenditure for building a new school or establishing a library or computer lab, thereby allowing our cash donations to go further. The contributions can come in the form of money, labor, land, furniture, school space, and/or staff dedicated to the ongoing maintenance of the project. Our challenge grants act as catalysts for community building and maximize the local participation and expertise brought to our programs, ensuring that they are run efficiently and effectively.

Room to Read is highly focused on resuls. Since our inception in 2000, we have impacted the lives of over 1.7 million children by:

• Constructing 442 schools
• Establishing over 5,160 libraries
• Publishing 226 new local language children's titles representing over 2 million books
• Donating over 2.2 million English language children's books
• Funding 4,036 long-term girls' scholarships
• Establishing 155 computer and language labs

We have assembled an enthusiastic, dedicated team of over 100 volunteers in the U.S. that manages all facets of operations. In addition, Room to Read has a talented team of staff and local volunteers in Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.

To learn more about Room to Read, please visit our main website: www.roomtoread.org.