Children's author Dennis Yang has committed to run 11,000 miles to raise both money and awareness for children's literacy.

Under his pseudonym Papa Didos, Yang writes books for children that help teach literacy skills as well as "validating the childhood experience," said The 74.

He took on the 11,000 mile journey, called "The Great Reading Run" to help raise awareness on the staggering statistics of how many children cannot read- and what poor literacy skills means for their future.

"Wang told Minneapolis’ KARE that as many as one in four children in the United States are functionally illiterate. According to BegintoRead.com, two-third of students who are not reading proficiently by the end of fourth grade will end up incarcerated or on welfare," the article said.

Yang's goal is to raise $1 million to print his books and give them to children around the world for free. At the time of the article's posting, he had raised $9,000 with a lot more to go for his goal.

But whenever Yang arrives in a new town while continuing his run, he typically has lots of running buddies who come out to show support.

"When Yang arrives in a town on his itinerary, his fans and supporters join him for a few miles on his jog. At a recent stop by the Twin Cities last week, students and teachers from Phalen Elementary in St. Paul, Minnesota met up with the author, who is a celebrity to the kids," the article said.

Yang will continue to seek donations for his endeavors and hopes that his run will inspire others to act in the name of child literacy.

Read the full story here and comment with your thoughts below.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

08/28/2015