Releases, Backgrounders and Statements

Target is committed to furthering educational opportunities for families throughout the country.  As a cornerstone of its giving program, Target educational programs reach children of all ages, with the focus on local schools and early childhood reading. 

 

Target supports K-12 teachers and schools by providing academic enrichment, both in and outside of the classroom, which includes unrestricted funding for local schools through grants, as well as solicitation of feedback from America’s educators to help design educational programs. 

 

Target also recognizes the integral role reading plays in shaping a child’s future.  Because reading is the foundation for lifelong learning, Target supports early childhood reading through programs that aim to foster a love of reading at an early age.   

 

Take Charge of Education^® is a school fundraising initiative created by Target in April 1997 to enhance educational opportunities and outcomes for children in communities across America. Community members can easily designate an eligible K-12 school of their choice and have Target donate an amount equal to one percent of their REDcard ^SM (Target^® Visa^® Credit Card, Target Credit Card^SM and Target Check Card^SM) purchases made at Target and Target.com*  Target also donates ½ percent of all purchases made everywhere else Target Visa Credit Cards are accepted. Depending upon each classroom’s individual needs, schools can use the unrestricted funds for anything from classroom supplies to updated technology.  Since the program’s inception, Target has donated more than $273 million to K-12 schools.  Beginning in 2010, Take Charge of Education payouts will be distributed once a year in September 

 

Target Volunteers School Library Makeovers program combines Target’s commitment to education, specifically early childhood reading and local schools, with the time and expertise of Target team members to help make over local school libraries across the country. The partnership with The Heart of America Foundation also provides volunteer opportunities for Target team members from donating books and volunteering at local school libraries to completing full library makeovers, utilizing the design and construction expertise of Target’s Property Development team.  Since 2007, Target Volunteers have improved nearly 2,000 libraries by giving $500 book awards to local schools and transforming more than 40 libraries with complete makeovers.  In 2010, Target team members will improve more than 1,700 K-12 school libraries across the country, including 32 complete library makeovers which will include light construction, new design elements, furniture, shelves, computers, fresh paint and 2,000 new books.   

 

Target Field Trip Grants program is an initiative launched in 2006, designed to help teachers enhance student understanding and achievement by bringing learning to life outside the classroom. In 2009, the Target Field Trip Grants program awarded 5,000 $800 field trips to educators nationwide.  Since the program’s inception, Target has awarded 7,400 grants, totaling more than $6 million, to education professionals in all 50 states.  Thanks to Target, more than 1.2 million students have explored the world outside the classroom.

 

Kids In Need Teacher Resource Centers put free school supplies in the hands of teachers and students.  Teachers from select schools with at least 70 percent of students enrolled in the federal Free Lunch program can “shop” at the Resource Centers at no cost to supply their students with items they need.  Target’s charitable giving has helped make it possible for the Kids In Need Foundation to provide free school supplies to more than 1.6 million children and 100,000 teachers annually. School supplies are provided at no charge to the teachers, the students, the schools or the school districts through these 25 resource centers.  Nearly $300 million in school supplies to low-income schools free of charge.  Kids In Need served their 10 millionth student during the 2007-2008 school year. 

 

Letters About Literature is national reading and writing contest which invites students in grades 4-12 to write a letter to an author, past or present, who has inspired them or altered their view of the world or themselves.  The program encourages young readers to explore their thoughts and feelings about a book and express their discoveries in a creative and unique way.  In 2010, Target will award six national winners a $ a $500 Target GiftCard and a $10,000 reading promotion grant to a library of their choice.  Additionally, $100 Target GiftCards will be awarded to twelve national honorable mention winners along with $1,000 reading promotion grants to libraries of their choosing and $50 Target GiftCards for state winners for their appreciation of reading.   

 

United Through Reading^® Military Program helps deployed military men and women stay connected to their families by sending DVDs of themselves reading books to their children and families back home. With Target’s support, the United Through Reading Military Program now reaches all branches of the military, enabling all parents deployed on military assignments around the world to keep in touch with their children back home. The program is available to military personnel at more than 130 Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and National Guard commands, including more than 50 select USO locations.  In 2009, the program impacted more than 280,000 children.  Developed during the first Persian Gulf War in 1990, there have been more than 700,000 beneficiaries since its inception. 

 

Book Festivals. Target sponsors major reading and book festivals nationwide, featuring live, family-focused entertainment, including readings by children’s authors to appearances by costumed characters to musical performances.  Featuring the larger-than-life Big Red Chair, which measures almost five-feet-wide, Target aims to encourage reading in a fun and recreational way.  Some of the book festivals Target supports include the following:

St. Jude School presented by Target. As part of its long-standing commitment to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., Target supports the St. Jude School Program.  Patients that are enrolled in the accredited, special purpose school – which has six teachers and provides instruction for patients in grades K-12 – attend class regularly and have homework. Books and assignments from the home community are emphasized, to keep patients in step with their local school. The school also provides re-entry support to ease the transition back into the community school when patients leave St. Jude.

 

Read Across America. Target partners with the National Education Association to support the Read Across America program.  On February 27, 2010, all Target stores nationwide hosted in-store events including readings by volunteers and local notables, and reading activities and giveaways.   

 

Reach Out and Read.  Target has teamed up with Reach Out and Read (ROR), a national nonprofit organization that promotes early literacy by making books a routine part of pediatric care.  Since 1989, ROR has provided the link between literacy and a healthy childhood to millions of children, with a special emphasis on children growing up in poverty.  Through its partnership, Target brings the ROR message to pediatrician offices throughout the nation.