Promising Pages was established in 2011 when founder Kristina Cruise recognized that far too many children (60,000+ in the Charlotte area) grow up with few, if any, books at home. In 2015, only 39% of third-graders in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools were reading proficiently. Children who do not read at grade level by third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school. Promising Pages inspires children to achieve their dreams by becoming bookworms. Our mission is to provide ownership of books to underserved children and cultivate a lifelong love of reading through innovative literacy programs and partnerships. Promising Pages works with schools and more than fifty community partners to help families build home libraries and make reading a fun, daily habit. Distributing more than 100,000 free books each year, Promising Pages is the largest distributor of upcycled children’s books in the Charlotte area, efficiently addressing this critical – and solvable – community need