In celebration of October’s National Book Month, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation has released a new promotional video featuring actors and children’s literacy advocates Nancy Cartwright, Terry Crews, Rosario Dawson, Jennifer Garner, Joel McHale and Seth Meyers, encouraging families and educators to discover the popular reading initiative Storyline Online.
“All kids need to know is that while you may have best friends out there in the real world, here at Storyline Online, you have book friends,” remarks award-winning actress, philanthropist, entrepreneur and literacy advocate Jennifer Garner.
Garner, like the rest of the promotional video‘s cast, has read for Storyline Online over the last two years. All of these actors donated their time and talent for both Storyline Online and the new PSA to help raise awareness and support for the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s free children’s literacy program, which has received over 900 million views worldwide since 2001.
“We have so much gratitude to those who have shared their gifts and talents to really bring this program to heights we never could have imagined,” said SAG-AFTRA Foundation President Courtney B. Vance. “Storyline Online proved to be an essential resource to hundreds of millions of families across the globe during the height of COVID while school was conducted from home, and we continue to see its educational impact as students reacclimate to in-person classrooms.”
Endorsed by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Storyline Online also offers free educational activity guides aligned with Common Core Standards. Developed by a credentialed elementary educator, the guides provide supplemental learning resources and support for teachers in classrooms, as well as parents with school-age children at home.
In addition to the actors featured in this promotional video, Storyline Online’s illustrious cast of readers includes Angela Bassett, Kristen Bell, Viola Davis, Cynthia Erivo, Allison Janney, John Lithgow, Rami Malek, Chris Pine, Justin Theroux, Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Yeoh, and many more. All actors who read for Storyline Online volunteer their time and talent to promote literacy and inspire a love of reading in hundreds of millions of children worldwide.