Parr Brown Gee & Loveless today announced the commercial law firm’s participation in the Books from Barristers program to help provide books to children from low-income households that are attending Title I schools along the Wasatch Front. “We at Parr Brown feel that every child, no matter their circumstance, deserves the opportunity to learn of the world around them through reading,” said Jenifer Tomchak, shareholder of Parr Brown. “These young people are the future leaders of Utah and our nation. Providing them with kid-friendly books on law, government, history and civics will help not only strengthen their learning, but also show them the difference they can make in this world.”The effort of Parr Brown and other involved organizations is resulting in nearly 2,000 books being given to elementary school students. This provides book ownership to students from low-income families where many do not own a book of their own. A national study shows that while middle-income neighborhoods have a ratio of 13 books owned per child, the ratio in low-income neighborhoods is one age-appropriate book for every 300 children.The Books from Barristers program is organized by a sub-committee of the Utah State Bar and sponsored by the Utah State Bar and individuals and law firms that make donations to the program. This year, the students in each class got to “vote” for their favorite book on Election Day. The ballots were then used to purchase the book of choice for each child.
