WICHITA, Kan. – Every year college basketball coaching staffs, athletes and fans across the country participate in the Champions for Literacy (formerly 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 percent will end up living in poverty because of their struggles with reading.

Several other teams from across the nation will participate this year in the Champions for Literacy program by designating a home game to #Fight4Literacy and encouraging their fans to donate in support of a local reading program. Wichita State Men's Basketball has participated in the program for the last several years and has 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 Wednesday, Feb. 7, at 6:30 p.m. in Charles Koch Arena when Wichita State hosts UTSA. One hundred percent 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 featuring 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 them improve their reading skills.

Donations are already underway at unitedwayplains.org/literacy where fans can track the team's #GiveLiteracy progress and 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.

Wichita State 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, VP of Community Impact for United Way of the Plains, hopes to see donations increase in 2024.

"This is about helping our kids, schools and community. Last year we provided 6,616 books to 3,308 students in grades K-3 at 15 schools in the Shocker neighborhood. We delivered them at the end of the school year so children could take them home and combat summer learning loss. Our goal is to expand the program and reach more children in 2024. 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."

Shocker fans can donate at unitedwayplains.org/literacy and check the Leaderboard to see how the Shocker donations compare to other teams. Ten dollars helps purchase two books for a child.