Jennifer Garner, other stars are reading to kids affected by school closures for a cause
Celebrities are stepping up to help the 30 million children without access to meals at school because of nationwide closures during the coronavirus pandemic.
Jennifer Garner and Amy Adams launched #SAVEWITHSTORIES earlier this month, an initiative with Save the Children and No Kid Hungry in which they read stories on social media to fundraise for these children during the COVID-19 crisis.
Garner appeared live via videoconference on "Good Morning America" Wednesday to discuss the book reading initiative.
"Amy [Adams] called me a couple of weeks ago, Friday night late and said, 'I have this idea and somebody told me maybe you can help.' And she said, 'I want to ask our community to read children's books on social media and to ask for a donation to help pay for food for kids who are affected by school shutdowns,'" Garner said.
Garner agreed that it was a great idea and brought it to Save the Children, an organization that she has worked with for 12 years.
They partnered with No Kid Hungry because Garner said the nonprofit is "more urban" and more "food-based," while Save The Children focuses more on education, making it a "great match."
Garner said her children are fortunate to have schooling on Zoom due to school closures, but many kids do not have access to learning materials at home.
"Over summer, kids who are low-income often lose two to three months of reading and math progress, so this is going to be a really long summer for kids who don't have broadband," she said. "My kids are in school on Zoom every day and their teachers are doing an incredible job, but so many kids don't have books at home."
To kick off her fundraising effort, the actress read "The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark."
Adams, who joined Instagram to promote the charitable initiative, read her first story, "The Dinosaur Princess," written by her daughter, Aviana Olea Le Gallo, and illustrated by her husband, Darren Le Gallo, in her first post on the social platform.
Since the launch of the campaign, they have read 89 stories for #SAVEWITHSTORIES. Other notable stars including Chris Evans, Natalie Portman, Reese Witherspoon, Camila Cabello, Chip and Joanna Gaines, Lily Collins, Laura Dern and Kerry Washington have shared videos of themselves reading.
Check out more stars' videos here, and donate to the campaign here.
