LeVar Burton Hits Kickstarter Goal for ‘Reading Rainbow’ in Less Than A Day

This June 19, 2012 file photo shows LeVar Burton introducing the all new Reading Rainbow adventure app to the media, publishers and parents at the “Reading Rainbow Relaunch” event in New York. (AP Photo)

(NNPA) – After launching his Kickstarter campaign to revamp “Reading Rainbow” Wednesday, LeVar Burton hit his goal in less than 24 hours.

The campaign, which is going to convert the former children’s show into a web series, has raised almost $1.7 million already, surpassing the goal of $1 million. The show, which ran from 1983 to 2006, earned 26 Emmys and a Peabody Award.

The following is from Burton’s Kickstarter page:

“Hi. LeVar Burton here. You may know me as Kunta Kinte, from ‘ROOTS,’ or Geordi La Forge, from ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation,'” the actor wrote. “You also may have grown up with me on ‘Reading Rainbow.’ It was my mother who taught me that, by picking up a book, I could “go anywhere” and “be anything.” Ever since Reading Rainbow began in 1983, I have dedicated myself to fostering a love of reading in children, just as my mother did for me.”

“I believe that every child has a right, and a need, to be literate. We have a responsibility to prepare our children … and right now, the numbers show that we, as a society, are failing in that responsibility,” he added. “Right now, 1 out of every 4 children in America will grow up illiterate.”