Charity of the week: Room to Read

Room to Read (roomtoread​.org) aims to build literacy across Asia and Africa by establishing libraries, building schools, and expanding educational opportunities for girls. Founded by a former Microsoft executive, Room to Read has distributed more than 10 million books and opened some 1,500 schools since 2000 in countries such as Cambodia, India, and South Africa. It has also established 13,000 libraries, and is now opening six new ones a day. More than 13,700 girls have received support to pursue an education, including school fees and uniforms. And because children’s books can be difficult to find in some languages, Room to Read has published more than 700 original books in languages like Khmer, Nepalese, Zulu, and Chhattisgarhi, which is spoken in parts of central India.

Each charity we feature has earned a four-star overall rating from Charity Navigator, which ranks not-for-profit organizations on the strength of their finances, their control of administrative and fund-raising expenses, and the transparency of their operations. Four stars is the group’s highest ranking.

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