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Mario Batali’s foundation sponsors another library in Las Vegas

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The Mario Batali Foundation has funded yet another Books for Kids library in Las Vegas, and it officially opens this Monday at 10 a.m. at the Variety Early Learning Center.

Books for Kids, an organization that aims to promote child literacy “with a special emphasis on low-income and at-risk preschool-aged children,” creates and fills libraries at existing preschools, Head Starts and day-care centers. The Variety center serves 120 children, 70 percent of whom are living below the poverty line.

“Every child deserves a safe, engaging and welcoming place where they can learn, explore and dream big! We’re so excited to continue to help provide this gift to the children of Las Vegas,” said the foundation’s founder, celebrity chef Mario Batali, in a press release. The Batali Foundation has sponsored 10 Books for Kids libraries since 2011, including one at the Acelero Learning Reach Out Center in Las Vegas, which opened in November 2014.

Monday’s dedication ceremony will feature a ribbon cutting, remarks from all parties involved in the venture and a reading of a beloved children’s classic, Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham.

In the release, Variety’s Board Chairman Bill Thomas said: “Variety Early Learning Center is so grateful to receive this gift of literacy from Books for Kids and the Mario Batali Foundation. The new library allows VELC to expand our ability to provide quality early-childhood education to some of the most deserving and underserved children in Las Vegas."

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