At-Large Group 1 Jacksonville City Council member Terrance Freeman is the new CEO of Read USA.
“Thanks to our generous donors and the great support we’ve received from our community partners, we have taken our organization to the next level by hiring a full-time CEO,” said Ellen Wiss, board chair and co-founder of Read USA, in a news release.
Read USA is a nonprofit organization that has provided about 250,000 free books to more than 73,000 children in Duval County since 2011.
Freeman will be at Jacksonville Arts & Music School on April 23 at the Read & Feed community event on World Book Day.
Free books and food will be available for families on a first-come, first-served basis. The event begins at 10 a.m. at the school at 3315 N. Liberty St.
“When kids learn to read, they read to learn,” Freeman said in the release.
He said he looks forward to expanding the organization’s existing reach throughout the region.
Wiss said Freeman’s leadership will promote growth and strategic partnerships to level the playing field for all children to succeed.
One of Read USA’s community partners is Feeding Northeast Florida, the region’s largest food bank and the food source for an estimated 326,000 people experiencing hunger.
Feeding Northeast Florida provides warehousing at one of its warehouse facilities for Read USA’s book inventory.
“We appreciate the opportunity to partner in the wonderful work that Read USA does and believe that collaborations like this make our community better,” said Susan King, president and CEO of Feeding Northeast Florida, in the release.