WICHITA, Kan. — Every year college basketball coaching staffs, athletes and fans across the country participate in the Coaching for Literacy initiative to address an alarming national problem. Two in three American 3rd graders can't read proficiently. Illiterate children become illiterate adults, and studies show that 43% will end up living in poverty because of their struggles with reading.

Thirty teams will participate this year in the Coaching for Literacy program by designating a home game to #Fightforliteracy and encouraging their fans to donate in support of a local reading program. Wichita State University and the men's basketball team have participated in the program for the past several years and have had a positive impact through a partnership with United Way of the Plains and Wichita Public Schools.

This year's annual Shocker #Fight4Literacy game will be held on Feb. 8, when the Shocker men's basketball team plays UCF. 100% of donations will stay local with United Way of the Plains to support literacy programs in Title I elementary schools in the Shocker neighborhood. The funds will be used to provide books with diverse characters to children from kindergarten through third grade and to enhance the ongoing Read to Succeed tutoring program. Volunteer reading coaches in the Read to Succeed program meet weekly with students in Wichita Public Schools for 30 minutes to listen to them read and help improve their reading skills.

Donations are already underway at unitedwayplains.org/literacy where fans can track the team's #GiveLiteracy progress to see how they're performing against other colleges. The first $5,000 donated will be matched by presenting sponsor International Paper, doubling the impact of every gift received.

WSU fans have been among the top #Fight4Literacy donors raising around $30,000 per year in donations and matching funds the last two years. Abel Frederic, vice president of Community Impact for United Way of the Plains, hopes to see donations increase in 2023.

"This is about helping our kids, schools and community. Last year we provided 6,100 books to 3,050 students in grades K-3 at 14 schools in the Shocker neighborhood," Frederic said. "We delivered them at the end of the school year so children could take them home to combat summer learning loss. Our goal is to expand the program and reach more children in 2023. We're hoping Shocker fan donations will increase their financial support to $35,000 this year so we can add 1,000 more books to the program."

WSU fans can donate at unitedwayplains.org/literacy and check the Leaderboard to see how the Shocker donations compare to other teams. A donation of $10 helps purchases two books for a child.

Wichita State and United Way of the Plains will be hosting a press conference with Mayor Brandon Whipple to give more details at 10:45 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 19 on Devlin Court at Charles Koch Arena.