“Butterfly in the sky. I can go twice as high. Take a look. It’s in a book. A Reading Rainbow.”
Those lyrics are familiar to most children who grew up to the show Reading Rainbow, and now the show’s host, LeVar Burton, wants to get children of the new generation a chance to experience the classic show.
The host launched a Kickstarter campaign on Wednesday in hopes of raising $1 million to bring the show to the Internet in the form of a web series by July 2.
Support for the cause was astonishing as the campaign reached the $1 million mark in less than a day.
As Burton and his team watched anxiously the campaign surpassed their goal within hours while a camera was there to capture the emotional moment.
“I don’t know what to say we’ve just crossed the million dollar threshold. It is our first day. I am overwhelmed. Thank you so much,” Burton says in the video. “This is going to enable us to really, really allow us to do a lot of good. I so proud that this community has come together to support this effort.”
And the good news does not stop there!
The campaign has doubled the original goal, surpassing $2 million dollars on Thursday evening.
The money from the campaign supporters will allow the series to
to go to the web and create customized lessons for classrooms across the country, especially where literacy rates are lowest. All of the programs will be available to schools for free, while the app will be available through a subscription service. The lessons are also available for tablets and offers virtual field trips.
Reading Rainbow ran on PBS from 1983 to 2006. The educational show won over 200 broadcasting awards, 26 Emmys and a Peabody award.
For more information or to donate click here.
Watch the campaign video and Lavar Burton’s emotional thank below!