Guided by the fact that literacy is essential to lifelong success, Page Ahead provides new books and develops reading activities that empower at-risk children. Founded in 1990, Page Ahead has given more than 3.5 million new books to more than 950,000 children through collaborations with schools, social service agencies, preschools, and early childhood programs across Washington. A child who is not reading at grade level by the time they finish third grade has only a 10 percent chance of ever catching up. Currently, only about 1/3 of low-income third graders in Washington are meeting that standard. Through our programs, we work to erase the early reading gap for children in communities of concentrated low income before it becomes an “achievement” gap.