LeVar Burton wants a million dollars to bring Reading Rainbow back

From 1983 to 2006, PBS aired Reading Rainbow, a LeVar Burton-hosted series designed to encourage children to read. For the past two years, Burton has been delivering new Reading Rainbow installments via a tablet app — but a new Kickstarter campaign aims to greatly enhance the program's reach. The expansion would revive Reading Rainbow on the internet, and develop a specialized classroom version of the series that would be delivered to schools in need for free. If the program meets its minimum funding goal, they'll be able to distribute Reading Rainbow to more than 1,500 classrooms.

To help meet the funding goal, Burton is offering some pretty impressive rewards. A contribution of $110 will get you a signed headshot; $1,500 will get you a group picnic with Burton in attendance; $3,000 will get you a private dinner; and $10,000 will get you a private dinner at which you'll get the chance to wear the "ONE-AND-ONLY ORIGINAL VISOR" that Burton wore in Star Trek: The Next Generation. While $1,000,000 is a lofty goal for any campaign, like a butterfly in the sky, this Kickstarter could go twice as high.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up