HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Last week, at Edgar Allan Poe Elementary School in Houston, a group of students gathered to open boxes of books donated through a new partnership between The Boniuk Foundation and Chicken Soup for the Soul. Prior to opening the books, the two organizations announced their new initiative that promotes tolerance, respect and compassion, with a generous book donation for the libraries of every school in Harris County, in addition to the class sets opened at Poe Elementary.
“At a time when bullying, school violence and other similar challenges are pressing issues, this initiative provides vital literacy resources to inspire both young people and adults to embrace diversity, reject stereotypes, make good choices and build more inclusive communities,” said Elizabeth Philippi, Manger Library Services, Houston Independent School District, at the event on Thursday morning.
As part of the new initiative, The Boniuk Foundation is donating Chicken Soup for the Soul books to all of the primary, middle and high schools in Harris County, Texas, and has also covered half of the cost for Harris County families to subscribe to Chicken Soup for the Soul’s online library, which contains thousands of stories from the bestselling books published over the past 20+ years by Chicken Soup for the Soul.
“We are excited to partner with Houston ISD and Chicken Soup for the Soul to ensure all students have access to information that covers important issues for our youth today, including tolerance, compassion and making good choices,” said Dr. Milton Boniuk, The Boniuk Foundation. “Our mission at The Boniuk Foundation is to promote tolerance, respect and compassion throughout society. We believe the focus on these principles will help support anti-bullying programs in schools.”
An additional component to the initiative is a CBS Saturday morning family TV show that will air nationwide for 52 weeks on CBS, premiering October 3, 2015. The show will promote tolerance, respect, compassion and making good choices. The show will be a unique combination of entertaining and meaningful segments woven together to inspire kids and teens to become responsible and socially conscious adults embracing differences, and breaking stereotypes, while engaging their parents in the conversation. It will regularly refer to stories from the books. The show will also feature viewer-submitted videos and other vignettes, and will celebrate people who, when given the chance, do the right thing. It will serve as inspiration for viewers to make positive choices in their own lives.
“We have always recognized the value of storytelling to impart good values and open readers’ minds to new ideas. Our books have historically promoted tolerance, respect and compassion and have also been an important influence on kids, preteens and teens,” said Bill Rouhana, CEO of Chicken Soup for the Soul. “The Boniuk Foundation’s donation of Chicken Soup for the Soul books to HISD and other Harris County students, parents and teachers provides an important tool to promote tolerance and start conversations about these important issues.”
For more information on the initiative, visit www.chickensoup.com.
About The Program
The Boniuk Foundation is working with Chicken Soup for the Soul to promote tolerance, respect, and compassion, inspiring young people and adults to embrace their differences, reject stereotypes, and make good choices. This project is comprised of three separate, but connected, programs: donations of Chicken Soup for the Soul books to schools in Houston and all of Harris County, TX; a new series of Chicken Soup for the Soul books for children and parents; and a weekly Saturday morning family show on CBS. In addition, Harris County families will receive special access for one year at a reduced price of $19.95 to Chicken Soup for the Soul’s entire online library of books. All of these programs use storytelling to encourage young and old to accept and respect people regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, and culture—one story at a time. For more information about these programs and its sponsors, visit thetoleranceproject.org.
