(NewsUSA) - March is National Reading Month, and the Toys for Tots Literacy Program continues its commitment to helping children “Unplug and March into Reading” by placing books into the hands of less fortunate children and encouraging families to unplug from their screens and electronic devices and enjoy a book together!

Literacy is the foundation for success in life, and it starts with early access to books in childhood.  Unfortunately, children in low-income families have very limited access to age-appropriate books.

The Toys for Tots Literacy Program was established in 2008 as a year-round effort to offer our Nation’s most economically disadvantaged children the ability to compete academically and to succeed in life by providing them direct access to books and educational resources that enhance their ability to read and communicate effectively. “This Program not only brings the joy of reading to these children, but it also serves as an important tool in breaking the cycle of poverty,” says Lieutenant General Jim Laster, USMC (Retired), President and CEO of the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. “Our goal is to dramatically change the landscape for less fortunate children and provide books and educational resources to ensure their future success,” he adds.

Since its founding, the Program has delivered more than 53 million books to children in low-income communities and Title I funded schools across the United States. Last year, the Program delivered a record number of over 6.3 million books to disadvantaged children—breaking the cycle of poverty one book at a time.

Most people know Toys for Tots as the organization that brings holiday cheer to children in need with gifts of new toys, but Toys for Tots remains committed to the welfare of children throughout the year with initiatives such as the Toys for Tots Literacy Program. One hundred percent of each dollar donated goes toward purchasing books for economically disadvantaged children.

“By getting books into the hands of less fortunate students, teachers, and families, we are helping children become their best selves,” LtGen Laster emphasizes. Children who have developed strong reading skills perform better in school and have a healthier self-image and a stronger sense of well-being.

All children can improve their reading comprehension skills by unplugging from screens and reading books themselves, playing word games, and reading aloud with family members. Unplug and March into reading with family, peers, or get lost in a book by yourself—and consider making a donation to the Toys for Tots Literacy Program to bring the transformative power of reading to all children.

Visit toysfortots.org for more information about the Toys for Tots Literacy Program and to donate.

(NewsUSA) - This is not a gilded age novel. It’s a novel of the smoke and grit that were the pride of a booming city. It takes readers to another time and another world that is distant but familiar.

Steel City by William J. Miller Jr. takes readers to the cauldron of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the late nineteenth century. The steel business has made the city the industrial capital of not just the country but the world. And through the eyes of Jamie Dalton, readers witness the titanic events of that city in that age:

• The Johnstown Flood that killed over 2,000 people, the country’s greatest natural disaster of the century.
• The Homestead Steel Strike of 1892, in which Henry Clay Frick sent an army of Pinkertons to break the back of the labor movement.
• An anarchist’s assassination attempt on Frick’s life in revenge for Homestead.
• The fight to the death between Frick and Andrew Carnegie for control of the country’s predominant steel company.
• The inside story of what is still the largest corporate buyout of all time.

At the time, Pittsburgh’s technological innovations and wealth creation made it the Silicon Valley of its day. It was first in steel, food processing, and electricity, and the leaders of those industries—Carnegie, Frick, Heinz, and Westinghouse—are names we still know today.

The author, William J. Miller Jr., grew up in Pittsburgh and was always fascinated by the living connections to its storied past: the Carnegie Library and Museum, the Carnegie Institute of Technology, and, in his own neighborhood, the Frick mansion, where Henry Frick’s daughter, Helen, still lived. Miller has spent his entire career in journalistic enterprises as reporter, publisher, blogger, and Time Inc. consumer marketing veteran. 

In this historical novel, Jamie, his father Richard, his mother Eleanor, and Pittsburgh society high and low navigate the social and economic issues of the late nineteenth century that still resonate today: corporate vs. individual responsibility, labor relations, suffrage, income inequality, substance abuse, media ethics. Steel City portrays the rich panoply of that era.

Jamie, a recent Yale graduate and son of a corporate lawyer, must decide whether to accede to his father’s wishes and pursue a career in law or the steel business, or follow his own instincts and become a newspaperman. The Johnstown Flood confirms his choice to be a journalist, and Jamie goes on to cover Pittsburgh’s business titans, labor strikes and assassination attempts.

While reporting on the unions of the era, he is exposed to a very different world, symbolized by his infatuation with a mysterious woman under the sway of an Eastern European anarchist. Jamie struggles with balancing the access he has to Pittsburgh’s business elite while maintaining the objectivity to tell the hard truths about those same people. Ultimately, he must thwart a terrorist plot that could disrupt the massive corporate merger that would restructure the nation’s largest industry: steel.

With deep research and a bibliography that shows an abiding respect for the facts and for the context of the lifestyle and the geopolitical environment of the time, readers leave Steel City with a sense of what life was like during this period. Purchase at https://amzn.to/3XVDcTk.

Revised 3/7/2023

(NewsUSA) - Auto Glass Now Announces a Chance to Win One of 23 Pairs of Ray-Ban Sunglasses

Charlotte, NC (February 27, 2023) – Auto Glass Now, known for fast, friendly, and convenient auto glass services, announces their Spring Fixin’ giveaway where Auto Glass Now will gift 23 winners with a pair of special Ray-Ban shades ahead of the 2023 spring break season.

The sweepstakes invites entrants to share their spring break plans for a chance to win at SpringFixin.com. It will run from Monday, February 27 through 11:59 PM ET on March 13, 2023, and is open to anyone in the U.S.

“Spring break is right around the corner, and we are excited to help our lucky winners see clearly as they enjoy their vacation or staycation in style,” said Michael Lopez, president, Auto Glass Now. “We help customers get rid of chips or cracks on their windshields, and now we’re taking it to the next level so you can enjoy some fun in the sun.”

Following the closing of the giveaway, 23 winners will be randomly selected on Wednesday, March 15. The winner will be contacted through email to receive their prize and must respond within five business days.

“We’ve had strong customer loyalty through the years because our Auto Glass Now family is committed to offering customers the best quality auto glass repairs and replacement, at an incredible value,” continued Lopez. “I’m thrilled that we can continue doing the work we love, and excited to give back to our valued customers.”

For more information, the rules governing the giveaway, and to enter, visit SpringFixin.com.

About Auto Glass Now

Auto Glass Now offers fast, friendly, and convenient auto glass services across the country with almost 100 locations throughout the United States. The local team of experts can help provide trusted auto glass repairs, replacements, and calibrations. A part of the Driven Brands family of automotive aftermarket companies, Auto Glass Now delivers national scale and efficiency, alongside its premier service quality. Visit AutoGlassNow.com to learn more.

About Driven Brands

Driven Brands™, headquartered in Charlotte, NC, is the largest automotive services company in North America, providing a range of consumer and commercial automotive needs, including paint, collision, glass, vehicle repair, oil change, maintenance and car wash. Driven Brands is the parent company of some of North America's leading automotive service businesses including Take 5 Oil Change®, Take 5 Car Wash®, Meineke Car Care Centers®, Maaco®, 1-800-Radiator & A/C®, Auto Glass Now®, and CARSTAR®. Driven Brands has more than 4,800 locations across 15 countries, and services over 50 million vehicles annually. Driven Brands' network generates approximately $2 billion in annual revenue from more than $5.6 billion in system-wide sales.

(NewsUSA) - Lobster Wars by Mark E. Greene

A tight, fast-paced social satire about what happens when reality TV comes to a small fishing village in Maine. The locals think they’re going to get famous and rich. But it’s never that easy -- especially when Connor Nichols, a telegenic outsider, a guy from “away,” gets a lobster fishing license and horns in on their good fortune.

The TV show airs to great ratings, only increasing the pressure, prompting a few unsavory characters to do anything they can to get in on the action. With filming about to begin, everything now hinges on season two. But it’s reality TV—what could go wrong? From an award-winning author with an offbeat sense of humor and a sharp eye for the absurd. Purchase at https://bit.ly/3YET1iw.

The Promise of America by William Sanchez

Born in Spanish Harlem to Cuban refugee parents, Will Sanchez has represented marginalized communities ever since he graduated from Georgetown Law. Having served the country as a White House appointee and Special Counsel shortly after 9/11, he recently ran for U.S. Senate in Florida as a progressive with bold ideas for America’s future. 

The Promise of America guides readers through personal family stories as well as broader topics touching on America’s promise for the future and the absolute need to protect and strengthen the democracy. “My background had a great impact on my respect for America’s cherished principles. The recent attacks on our democracy inspired me to get more directly involved in trying to secure that America as nation will be greater in the future than it is now.  Purchase at https://bit.ly/3XkvmTy.

Burned Out by Dean Mafako

Eric Philson came to the Children's Hospital of Biloxi with a goal ― to build the cardiac intensive care unit from the ground up. The physician faces insurmountable odds: the devastating aftereffects of a hurricane, deprivation of essential staff and resources, and a cardiac surgeon resistant to change. 

Dr. Philson will do whatever it takes to help improve the care for children, until the job begins to take a toll on his free time, marriage, and health. How much is he willing to sacrifice? Working hundred-hour weeks, overcoming the impossible, and facing personal ruin are only the start of what he will face. Does he have the grit and determination to do what's right, even if it costs him everything? Purchase at https://bit.ly/3kpk2ab.

Did We Learn Anything from WTC Towers Collapse?...  By Gregory Szuladzinski

The most extensive investigation of the event was made by NIST, a government-funded institution. The most glaring error was to treat the fireballs associated with aircraft impacts as merely a fuel-burning action and ignoring the devastating pressure impulse involved.

NIST reports describe in detail the condition of the structure prior to collapse. It is said that a high-temperature softening of steel was responsible for the initiation of collapse, but such an explanation is suitable for an engineering student, not for a large team of specialists. What was needed was the exact sequence of element failures, because only from it can we learn about the design's weaknesses.

Another flaw was the lack of comprehensive treatment of thermal insulation. There was no awareness of the fact that too thick insulation may fall off under impact conditions. Purchase at https://bit.ly/3XLzewK.

BookTrib’s Bites is presented by BookTrib.com.

(NewsUSA) - Financial planning is about helping individuals and families make sound financial decisions that enable them to achieve their life goals. When financial planners provide these services to diverse clients, they help bridge the gaps between different communities.

A growing body of research shows that minority communities in the United States are both increasing in size and building greater wealth. However, studies have also found persistent racial gaps in wealth, financial literacy and access to or use of professional financial advice.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has found, for example, that African American and Hispanic individuals tend to score lower on financial literacy tests than Asian American and White test takers. African American and Hispanic adults are also more likely to experience unexpected drops in income, be unbanked or underbanked, and have difficulty making ends meet or saving for future expenses, according to FINRA.

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM professionals play a vital role in helping to close those gaps. CFP^® professionals guide clients through building wealth, managing financial challenges and securing their families’ financial futures. Depending on the client, that work could be as simple as helping a family create and stick to a monthly budget, or as complex as developing a diversified investment strategy to save for retirement. In either case, a CFP^® professional helps their clients build financial knowledge along with their wealth — both of which can lead to greater equality among diverse communities.

Thousands of CFP^® professionals around the country also partner with organizations that provide free, quality personal financial advice to individuals who cannot otherwise access financial planning services. The Foundation for Financial Planning, for example, connects volunteer financial planners with individuals and families in need through a variety of programs. These programs provide the many benefits of financial planning to people who might not be able to afford professional financial advice, those who live in an underserved community or those who have other personal challenges.

CFP^® professionals help to promote financial literacy and awareness of financial planning within their communities, too. Many of them share this knowledge by participating in community events or by leading workshops or other educational programming at community centers. One program offered by Rock the Street, Wall Street has enlisted CFP^® professional volunteers to provide financial literacy and investment instruction to high school girls and to encourage them to consider financial services careers.

With a career as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM professional, you can help improve people’s financial lives and make a real difference in your community. To learn more about what financial planners do and the benefits of a financial planning career, visit CFP.net to download CFP Board’s free “Guide to Careers in Financial Planning.”

(NewsUSA) -