Program gives elementary kids some books to call their own

(AP) — Each month, more than 2,100 elementary students in the Omaha area are given books to call their own, to share with their parents, to learn to read.

Melissa Mayo, the director of Classroom Ready Initiatives at the local United Way, told the Omaha World-Herald (http://bit.ly/2mldcPv ) that it takes about $250,000 to pay for a year of the program, which aims to provide books to families that might be struggling financially.

Stacey Stoffel, a fifth-grade teacher at Mockingbird Elementary in south Omaha and the school's Book Trust manager, said she knew of some students who didn't have any books to read at home before September.