Each year, scholars from Breakthrough Atlanta, a program focused on increasing academic opportunities and college readiness for highly motivated, underserved students, donate books as part of the Chick-fil-A Leader Academy’s kickoff service project.
Understanding that access to books is essential for a child’s intellectual growth, the mission of this program is to ensure that every child has the opportunity to enrich their education through reading. This year their service work took on a deeper significance when the participants decided to shift their focus to help students devastated by wildfires that recently swept through Los Angeles, California.
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Throughout Los Angeles and the surrounding communities, five schools were destroyed, with seven more heavily damaged, leaving as many as 700,000 students and staff displaced and having to learn from temporary locations or online school. Besides schools, the fires have devastated libraries, independent bookstores, and personal book collections.
So, Breakthrough Atlanta went beyond merely collecting books for affected communities. With great care, they packed and shipped volumes of books to readers in Los Angeles, adding personal touches such as heartfelt notes and Chick-fil-A gift cards. They hope that these books and gifts will offer enrichment, escape, and comfort to children enduring incredibly challenging circumstances.
“Our Breakthrough scholars understand that leadership is about more than just taking initiative—it’s about serving others with empathy and kindness,” said Monique Shields, CEO of Breakthrough Atlanta. “Through their efforts, they are demonstrating the power of literacy and the impact that even small acts of kindness can have on individuals and communities.”
In partnership with SoCal College Attainment Network and Reading Partners Los Angeles, Breakthrough Atlanta donated 40 cases of children’s books to be distributed to students displaced from their schools and libraries due to the devastating L.A. wildfires. Reading Partners took charge of giving out the books by distributing them in the Pasadena Unified School District’s drive-through lunch lines as well as Pasadena elementary students upon returning to school at the end of January.
“We are incredibly grateful for our partnership with Breakthrough Atlanta, whose generosity has helped provide books to students impacted by the Eaton Fire,” said Chloe Oliveras, executive director of Reading Partners Los Angeles. “The excitement on their faces as they receive these books is truly heartwarming—flipping through the pages, discovering new adventures, and finding joy in stories that offer comfort and inspiration. This partnership is more than just about books; it’s about hope, healing, and the power of education to brighten even the toughest of times.”
