Perdue, Bev. Press Release, 2009-05-27, First Gentleman Eaves Donates Books to Halifax and Rutherford County Elementary Schools

Beverly Eaves Perdue Governor State of North Carolina Office of the Governor 20301 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-0301 May 27, 2009 Contact: Chris Mackey Office: (919) 733-5612' First Gentleman Eaves Donates Books to Halifax and Rutherford County Elementary Schools First Gentleman Bob Eaves donated 500 summer reading books through the Scholastic Summer Challenge to Inborden Elementary School in Halifax County and to Harris Elementary School in Rutherford County. The Scholastic Summer Challenge is a national literacy campaign that raises awareness of the importance of summer reading among children, families, teachers and librarians. “Summer is a time for students to relax and prepare for the upcoming school year. With that preparation comes the important task of keeping up with and improving on their reading skills,” Eaves said. “I want all children to have fun while reading this summer, and 1 hope they enjoy these new books during the summer.” Harris Elementary School is located across the street from the birth place of Mr. Eaves’ father. Mr. Eaves also wanted to donate to Halifax County in support of the current challenges the school district is correcting. Mr. Eaves is one of more than 30 first spouses who are participating in the challenge. The State Library of North Carolina also has a Summer Reading Program, and in 2008, encouraged 136,000 individual North Carolina children and teens to register at their local libraries for the program.