Screenshot: <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/readingrainbow/bring-reading-rainbow-back-for-every-child-everywh">LeVar Burton & Reading Rainbow</a>/Kickstarter
LeVar Burton wants to revive his acclaimed educational show Reading Rainbow, and has started a Kickstarter campaign to do it. The 57-year-old actor and his team are looking to raise $1 million to launch an online version of the series, which originally aired on PBS from 1983 to 2006.
But here’s the really cool part (via TheWrap):
Burton’s “Reading Rainbow” campaign will create a new version of the show available to any child with access to the internet.
He also plans on offering a “classroom version” of the program for teachers and is spearheading a not-for-profit that will give copies of “Reading Rainbow” away to low-income schools for free. The campaign offers various rewards for donating, including potentially getting to wear his famous “Star Trek” visor.
“So lets do it this, y’all,” Burton said. “Together we can create and deliver a proven tool for encouraging the love of reading to millions of children. We can genuinely change the world, one children’s book at a time.”
As of writing this, the campaign has 14,367 backers, and $652,622 has been pledged. There are 34 days left in the crowdfunding campaign.
“I believe that every child has a right, and a need, to be literate,” Burton’s Kickstarter page reads. “We have a responsibility to prepare our children… and right now, the numbers show that we, as a society, are failing in that responsibility.”
Watch the Kickstarter video here:
(H/t Jeb Lund)