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Nationwide Literacy Initiative · Since 2010

Reed Across America Literacy Tour.

A literacy initiative by a Pro Football Hall of Famer. Reading rooms inside Boys & Girls Clubs in 33 states. Andre's name on every one. Goal: all 50.

Andre Reed in his Hall of Fame gold jacket pointing toward the crowd at the 2014 enshrinement
Andre Reed in his Dieruff High School football portrait, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 1988
Why this exists · The origin

His last name was Reed.

But he never got read to.

Andre Reed wore #83 for sixteen years. He thrilled Buffalo Bills fans with his acrobatic catches, his dedication, and his uncanny ability to shake off defenders. The Hall of Fame called in 2014. But long before any of that, he was a kid growing up in Allentown — at the Boys & Girls Club — whose last name was Reed, and yet he never got read to. Not once. He didn't have books at home.

Years later he realized something else. The joy he felt scoring a game-winning touchdown was the same feeling he got from finishing a good book. That contradiction — a kid named Reed who never got read to, who later found the same joy in a book that he found in football — became the foundation.

The same joy. The same dedication. The same number.

Read with Reed 83 was born in 2017. Now in 33 states and counting — 28 reading rooms remodeled, 66+ Boys & Girls Clubs visited.

Read with Reed 83 · The Literacy Initiative

All across the country.

“Our reading rooms glow in every corner of America.”

From Allentown to Seattle, Canton to Miami, Buffalo to Minneapolis, and New York to San Diego — the program, rallies, and reading rooms are being built all across the country to promote literacy for underserved youth in 33 states and growing. Make reading cool again.

How it works · The challenge

Read 83 books.
Catch the love.

The program runs inside Boys & Girls Clubs. Kids read 83 books, exercise their mind 30 minutes a day, and tackle a good book. At Reed-ing Rallies, current NFL players show up to make reading cool again.

Read 83 + Boys & Girls Clubs of America official program brand card with Andre Reed's signature
01
Pick up 83 books

Andre picked his jersey number for a reason. Kids get the full Read 83 reading kit — books they keep, not borrow.

02
Exercise the mind, 30 min a day

Reading 30 minutes a day, every day. Inside the Boys & Girls Club, at home, on the bus — wherever the books go.

03
Show up at the Reed-ing Rally

NFL players visit Boys & Girls Clubs across the country. Current pros. Hall of Famers. The point: make reading cool again.

04
Win the trip

Read all 83? You go to an NFL game with Andre. Field passes. Locker rooms. The works.

Tackle a Book →Exercise the Mind →Catch the Love of Reading →

Watch the program · 16 years in 2 minutes

Read with Reed 83 — in Andre's own words

28 rooms · The cities

28 rooms. Coast to coast.

“Our reading rooms glow in every corner of America.”

Andre's name is on a reading room in every Boys & Girls Club below. Anchors are Allentown (HQ) and San Diego(Andre's home). The other cities span all four US regions. Goal: all 50.

Northeast

7 cities
  • Allentown★ HQPA
  • BostonMA
  • BuffaloNY
  • New YorkNY
  • NewarkNJ
  • PhiladelphiaPA
  • PittsburghPA

3 confirmed · 4 pending

Midwest

7 cities
  • CantonOH
  • ChicagoIL
  • CincinnatiOH
  • ClevelandOH
  • DetroitMI
  • Green BayWI
  • MinneapolisMN

3 confirmed · 4 pending

South

9 cities
  • AtlantaGA
  • CharlotteNC
  • DallasTX
  • HoustonTX
  • JacksonvilleFL
  • MiamiFL
  • NashvilleTN
  • New OrleansLA
  • TampaFL

1 confirmed · 8 pending

West

7 cities
  • San Diego★ HomeCA
  • DenverCO
  • Las VegasNV
  • Los AngelesCA
  • OaklandCA
  • PhoenixAZ
  • SeattleWA

2 confirmed · 5 pending

9 of 30cities confirmed via Andre's own words in the program video. The full updated list is pending verification with Theresa Reed.

See the cities on the map →

From the rooms · The kids

Reading, made cool.

Real moments from inside the reading rooms — the signed 83 wall decals, the beanbags and teepees, the new books in small hands. This is what a Read with Reed room looks like on a normal afternoon.

A girl in a Read with Reed reading room holding up a "Cool Kids Read Books" pillow, sitting on a fuzzy blue beanbag
Cool kids read books — the whole idea, in one pillow
A young girl smiling as she reads "A Little Spot of Empathy" beneath a life-size Andre Reed #83 Buffalo Bills wall decal
Reading beneath the #83 wall decal
A toddler leaning over an open picture book in a reading room lined with full bookshelves
In the reading room
A boy seated on a wobble stool in front of a large signed "83" jersey-number wall decal on turf-green flooring
The signed 83 wall
A boy grinning as he holds up the book "1001 Things to Spot in the Sea" beside bins of donated books
1,001 things to spot
A boy wearing a "Read More 83" cap and a Read 83 t-shirt in a reading nook stocked with picture books and Reading Rods
Read 83, head to toe
Three girls flashing peace signs beside a reading teepee, under "Just one more page" and "Let’s read" posters and a shelf of books
The reading teepee
A girl holding a hand-lettered sign that reads "The brain is a muscle — read to exercise it!" at a Boys & Girls Club event
The brain is a muscle
Two kids in purple Boys & Girls Club of Southern Nevada shirts holding books in a green-walled reading room with beanbags and a teepee
A new room in Nevada
A girl in glasses proudly holding up "The Book of the Brain and How It Works" beside a table of donated books
Exercise your mind
The Reed-ing Rallies

NFL pros show up. Kids show up.

Reed-ing Rallies bring NFL Hall of Famers and current pros into Boys & Girls Clubs across the country. The kids see athletes they recognize from Sunday — opening books, signing them, telling stories about why reading mattered to their careers. That’s what makes reading cool again.

Drew Brees — Saints · QB · HOF inductee
Reed-ing Rally

Drew Brees

Saints · QB · HOF inductee
Andre Reed — Bills · HOF Class of 2014
Founder + host

Andre Reed

Bills · HOF Class of 2014
Franco Harris & more every year

Franco Harris and a rotating roster of NFL Hall of Famers and current pros show up to Reed-ing Rallies each year — opening books, telling their story, and showing up for the kids who need it most.

Voices from the field
“Favorite part? Smiles on the kids' faces. They're having such a blast, shaking the pom-poms, and just enjoying their new gift on behalf of Andre Reed and the Reed Foundation.”
Boys & Girls Club stafferRead with Reed event
“I need your help to tell kids to stand on the books they've read to reach the top. Help me tell this generation to go read.”
Andre ReedPro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2014
“Reading is a way up and out of situations. The kids who pick up a book today are the leaders we need tomorrow.”
Andre ReedRead with Reed 83 program
Program 04 · Where It Started

Boys & Girls Club partnership.

“The Boys & Girls Club of Allentown raised me. Every program we run flows back through that door.”

— Andre Reed

We staff Read 83 reading rooms and run mentor sessions inside the same Boys & Girls Club locations that shaped Andre as a kid. The program runs in clubs from Allentown to Seattle, Canton to Miami, Buffalo to Minneapolis, and New York to San Diego — the same network that’s been raising kids in our cities for 60+ years. $500K+ in direct grants to the Allentown chapter alone.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Proud partner since 2010
Andre’s story
Andre Reed and Drew Brees at a Boys & Girls Club event
Andre & Drew Brees · BGCA Event

The unfinished work

17 states to go.

Active in 33. Goal: all 50.

33 states active todayGoal: 50 states
28
Reading rooms remodeled
66
Boys & Girls Clubs visited
16
Years and counting

Every room we open is a state closer to coast-to-coast literacy. Every kid we reach is one less kid named Reed who never got read to.

Help us finish →

Three ways in

How to help Reed.

Andre asked directly: “I need your help to tell this generation to go read.” Here are three doors. Pick the one that fits.

Most direct

Fund a reading room.

Every $5,000 builds a remodeled reading room in a Boys & Girls Club — Andre's name on the wall, books on the shelves, mentors in the corner. 17 states still need one.

$5,000

Corporate

Become a foundation sponsor.

Long-term partnerships with companies that want to fund nationwide youth literacy. Logo on the program, custom Reed-ing Rally activations, year-round visibility across our 33-state footprint.

$25K+

No money needed

Lend your voice.

Spread the program in your city. Host a rally. Connect a Boys & Girls Club. NFL alumni, local celebs, teachers, parents — we need ambassadors in every state we haven't reached yet.

17 states

“Andre showed up for sixteen years. Show up for him.”

✦ Common Questions

Where your money goes. And how we prove it.

92¢ on every dollar to programs. Form 990 published. Charity Navigator 4.5★. Here's the answer to every donor question we get.