Target directs $500 million towards education
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Target Corp. will spend more than $500 million on education through 2015 as the company refocuses its philanthropy on a new reading push and other school programs.
An executive with the retail chain announced the new focus at a media conference in Minneapolis Friday.
Target community relations president Laysha (LAY-sha) Ward says the Target Read With Me initiative aims to get third-graders reading proficiently, a goal that should help more students graduate from high school. The program asks adults to read regularly to a child, with Target donating two million books to needy children and starting a reading center in the Twin Cities.
Target donates 5 percent of its income to community programs, amounting to $187 million last year. The new push will double the amount Target has spent to da0te on education through programs like school library makeovers.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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