RIF Makes JuJu's Team

RIF Makes JuJu's Team

RIF Pittsburgh is a Pittsburgh Steeler’s “receiver”!

That Steeler is wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. His charitable fund, The JuJu Foundation, released the roster of local grant recipients, and RIF Pittsburgh made the cut.

We are among 10 nonprofit organizations in the city to share $75,000 in funding from the foundation.

We’ll be using the grant to purchase thousands of diverse books for children in neighborhoods of need across Pittsburgh and Wilkinsburg.

Florri Ladov, RIF’s executive director, says, “We can’t wait to tell children that JuJu Smith-Schuster bought them books. He is a superhero to many of our RIF kids, and this will inspire a lot of reading in Pittsburgh!”

Ladov adds that Smith-Schuster’s recognition of the importance of literacy will also go a long way to encourage parents to read with their children.

Black-centered titles by Black authors and illustrators are especially vital in helping children to develop a positive racial identity. Seeing themselves, their families and neighborhoods reflected in books strengthens children’s voices, validates their goals, and elevates their thinking about the great, wide world of possibilities open to them.

For more information visit here!