The Star Donation Challenge is Back With a New Partner and a Broader Mission
Shining a Light for Literacy Around the World
From an early age, literacy shapes how children learn, communicate, and engage with the world. It’s the foundation for academic achievement, career opportunities, civic participation, social engagement, and even long-term health. Yet today, 70% of ten-year-olds in low- and middle-income countries don’t have the resources they need to learn to read. With bold and focused efforts that mobilize our youngest changemakers, we can begin to rewrite that story.
That’s the mission behind the 2026 Star Donation Challenge, a reading initiative by Learning A-Z® that transforms student effort into global impact. This year, the challenge returns with a renewed focus on literacy, thanks to a new partnership with Room to Read, an education nonprofit organization dedicated to helping millions of children in historically low-income communities worldwide overcome immense barriers to learning.
What’s Behind Global Literacy Inequality?
Literacy unlocks opportunity, empowerment, and lifelong learning. Yet millions of children around the world lack access to books, trained teachers, and safe learning spaces. Students and their teachers who have these resources can help by participating in the Star Donation Challenge. While practicing their own reading skills, participants are simultaneously helping their peers around the globe do the same. It’s a powerful reminder that every book they read can spark change.
How Giving Back Motivates Students
Acts of generosity fuel intrinsic motivation and a sense of purpose. In past years, students who participated in the Star Donation Challenge read 300% more books and completed 400% more learning activities than their peers. Beyond academics, the challenge nurtures empathy, responsibility, and global awareness. Students begin to see themselves not just as learners, but as advocates for change.
“I love the incentive the Star Donation Challenge provides my students to both read and give back. I found students discussing the challenge outside of reading time.” Aimee Miller, Classroom Teacher, North Folk Elementary School, IL
Introducing the New Partnership
This year, Learning A-Z is teaming up with Room to Read, a global education nonprofit known for creating culturally relevant children’s books, training teachers, and establishing libraries that foster a love of reading. Room to Read has helped students access 42 million books in historically low-income communities across 28 countries.
Together, Learning A-Z and Room to Read share a mission: to unlock the potential of every child through literacy. This partnership brings new depth to the challenge, aligning student donations with real-world literacy impact.
Students Learn, Earn Stars, and Donate
Here’s how the challenge works: students earn stars by reading books and completing activities in the Learning A-Z Student Portal. During the challenge, they can choose to donate their stars toward three literacy-focused options:
- Books — Provide a book to a child who doesn’t have access to reading materials, developed in their local language.
- Libraries — Fill school libraries with books, creating spaces where kids can discover and share a love of reading.
- Teacher Training — Equip educators with the skills to spark lifelong reading in students around the world.
At the end of the challenge, Learning A-Z will convert the donated stars into a monetary donation of up to $20,000 to Room to Read, which will distribute the resources where they are needed most.
A Movement of Hope
The Star Donation Challenge is more than just a reading challenge — it’s a movement with immediate and tangible results, while also helping students develop into engaged, empathetic, connected adults. Each star donated contributes to real-world change: books in hands, libraries on shelves, and teachers empowered. It’s proof that small actions can create lasting global impact.
The 2026 Star Donation Challenge is over. See the winners and their impact, then stay tuned for next year's challenge.