'Reading Rainbow' Returns? LeVar Burton Raising $1 Million on Kickstarter for Web Series (VIDEO)
"Reading Rainbow" could be making a big comeback if host LeVar Burton gets his way. The "Star Trek" actor created a Kickstarter promotion with the aim of raising $1 million to get more children to read via their web-based format.
The "Reading Rainbow" Kickstarter aims to give children access to thousands more books through their online library, digital field trips, and subsidize the cost of the web series so underfunded schools can get the educational tool for free.
Reading Rainbow began in 1983 but was canceled in 2006, and reruns stopped airing in 2009. Since 2012 it was transferred to an app for tablets, and according to the video Burton recorded for the Kickstarter, it's the no. 1 educational tool for kids currently. While the show reached millions of children in the U.S. before, Burton believes the show needs to be online to reach a new generation.
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"You take advantage of where kids are," Burton told The Verge during an interview. "Back in the 80s that was in front of the television set. Today, you have to have access to the web. Universal access is really what this effort is all about."
The Reading Rainbow team is offering a bunch of different gifts for donors. Swag ranges from T-shirts and tote bags to a signed book from Burton, one of his headshots, or even a personalized voicemail for your incoming calls. For fans who remember him from "Star Trek: The Next Generation," they can get to meet him at a conference or even take a picture with his famed visor from the sci-fi show.
The Kickstarter has until July 2 to reach their initial goal of $1 million. However, with a little over a month to go they seem poised to make it with over $600,000 already donated.
