A vending(售卖) machine is usually where a person buys snacks and drinks.
In Washington, D.C, some vending machines are providing a new snack: free children’s books. The Book Vending Machine program is the first of its kind in the U.S. It is the newest addition to “Soar with Reading”, a program started five years ago by JetBlue Airlines and designed to encourage kids to read more and to get books into the hands of kids that need them most. Dozens of books that appeal to children are within reach, at the push of a button. Stories are about dinosaurs, elephants, knights, robots and lots of other things. And the kids get a lot of encouragement.
The program is a joint(共同的) effort with a children’s book company. The vending machines are located in churches, grocery stores, schools and a branch of the Salvation Army in southeast D.C. There are a lot of books in the machines and children are allowed to take as many as they want.
Icema Gibbs is director of Corporate Social Responsibility for JetBlue Airways. He said, “Making sure that kids develop a life-long love of reading when they are really young is really important to us. We hope it helps us have better future crew members and people who work for us.”
Studies have shown that having books at home has a positive effect on children’s test scores in school. It makes kids more likely to read for pleasure.
“Our program is trying to get books in the hands of children who don’t have age-appropriate(适龄的) books at home. They can touch and pick a book that was important to them so nobody, no adult was telling them what book they had to take.” Icema Gibbs added.
The kids are excited about getting a book to read and to keep.
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