The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) named First Book its signature charity in November 2000. Together, the U.S. Coast Guard and First Book have distributed over 15 million books since then. USCG personnel and families support First Book by storing and distributing books from U.S. Coast Guard warehouse facilities nationwide.

In Summer 2008, First Book and the USCG created the Summer Reading Handshake Tour, which kicked off July 5 and ran through August 25, celebrating the importance of books and reading at reading parties aboard the USCG Tall Ship Eagle as it sailed to West Coast ports of call. Books donated by Scholastic were given to children in need in local communities at each stop. 

For every visitor to the ship, a new book was donated to a child in need. And, participants could honor the men and women of the USCG by offering a virtual handshake, generating a new donated book every time a web site visitor "clicked" to shake hands with the Coast Guard. 

On August 25th we reached a total of 57,773 handshakes for the tour!

First Book extends a big THANK YOU to all who participated in this tribute of support for the men and women of the USCG. Your comments and clicks were shared with the Coasties, and new books from Scholastic have reached the children who needed them most.

Notes from the handshake tour:

"Opening a book is the first step in an amazing journey! I am happy to reach out and help give a child their first book."

"How wonderful that you provide the resources that you do; both for our country and children in need!"

"I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky; and all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by...” from "Sea- Fever" by John Masefield