'Modern Family' star to raise money for Los Angeles school libraries

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Modern Family star to raise money for Los Angeles school libraries

The fundraiser includes a Q&A panel moderated by Bowen, plus, an autograph-signing and meet-and-greet with the children’s book authors.

By (Reuters)

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Published: Wed 10 Jun 2015, 9:45 PM

Last updated: Wed 8 Jul 2015, 2:53 PM

Modern Family star Julie Bowen and renowned cartoonists Jeff Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), Stephan Pastis (Timmy Failure), Lincoln Pierce (Big Nate) and Dav Pilkey (Captain Underpants) will raise money for Los Angeles school libraries at this month’s Drawn Together event. Bowen, a Timmy Failure fan herself, said that she’s very familiar with the authors she’ll be joined by, thanks to her children who love to read. “I have an eight-year old and two six-year-olds,” Bowen shared. “Our entire library of books is made up of Captain Underpants, Diary of the Wimpy Kid — I mean, literally, that’s what we have.”

The fundraiser includes a Q&A panel moderated by Bowen, plus, an autograph-signing and meet-and-greet with the children’s book authors. “I think reading is the basics of education,” Bowen said. “There was at one point where Captain Underpants was one of the most banned books in America and I find it shocking because anyway you get a kid to read is a good way...that’s all that matters. And that’s why I got involved with this.”

All of the proceeds from Drawn Together go towards Access Books, a charitable organization that provides books to inner-city schools in Southern California. Since 1999, their vision has been to provide books to school and community libraries where the majority of students are below the poverty line. “I am thrilled that they are doing good. Some of the public school budgets have been cut back wildly nationwide. Some communities just can’t afford to build a library from the ground up or keep their library going,” Bowen said. “I was a huge reader as a kid. I loved reading and I just find it appalling that there are kids out there who want to read, but can’t because they don’t have access to books. Since its inception, Access Books has refurbished 216 libraries and given over 1.2 million books to children in the greater Southern California area. Drawn Together will be held at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on June 20. Reuters

 


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