WALLA WALLA -- The Walla Walla Valley Early Learning Coalition recently secured a $50,000 grant from Thrive by Five Washington to support literacy among the area's youngest children.

The award will be used to purchase thousands of books for local programs, with the goal of getting the books to area families with young children.

Program manager Samantha Bowen, with the Walla Walla Early Learning Coalition, said her agency will make the books available at places that families regularly visit, like the Post Office, with each family getting to take a book home.

Books will also be added to the local Reach Out and Read program, which gets books to families through pediatricians.

The overall aim of the grant is to promote literacy among families through programs and activities, and through the simple gesture of getting new, high-quality books into families' hands, Bowen said.