One of the most important things you can do for a child is have books in the house. Having books makes children literate, almost by osmosis—you don’t even have to read them for them to work their magic. That’s why Kars4Kids has given small grants to two organizations making sure that very young kids are exposed to books and literature.

Our focus as an organization is on mentoring. But that doesn’t mean we can’t partner with other groups that support the whole child on one level or another. To that end, we decided it was a terrific idea to give money to ReadBoston and The Reading Connection.

ReadBoston encourages the parents of very young Bostonians to read to their children, even if they’re tired out after a long day of work. But ReadBoston also has a storymobile, where various neighborhood crowds of youngsters get a visit and a story. In one six-week period, ReadBoston actually gave away 24,000 books.

That’s a lot of books. And we are ecstatic to be able to partner with that kind of fantastic work. These kids are going to have a much better academic start than they would have had without ReadBoston to give them a boost.

The Reading Connection is doing work similar to ReadBoston, in the Arlington, D.C., and Montgomery County, MD area. Run on the steam of volunteers, The Reading Connection sends these nice people into shelters and community centers to read to at-risk children. TRC also offers workshops to families to teach them how to teach their children to love books, which is the most important thing you can do for a child!

Like ReadBoston, The Reading Connection gives children books they can take home for free. Imagine the thrill of having your very own book for the very first time! So begins a love affair with the printed word, opening up a child’s academic horizons and future in a huge way.

Kars4Kids is proud to be helping children with pre-literacy skills, by partnering with these fine organizations, if even in a small way, with small grants. We’d like to think we’re helping kids get a leg up on life.