In just a matter of hours, actor LeVar Burton’s campaign to bring back Reading Rainbow soared past his $1 million goal, proving that the Internet can do great things.
The Roots actor launched the campaign on Wednesday and the news went viral in minutes. Suddenly, we found out that there could be a way to not only bring back the beloved PBS series, but also help young children learn the wonders of reading. He set the $1 million goal, which was easily reached within hours.
At the moment, the Kickstarter campaign has 35,300 backers and is up to $1.6 million this morning. The campaign still has 34 days left to go.
“Y'all are INCREDIBLE!” Burton wrote in a post on his Facebook page. “Together, we are over 22,000 people strong, and have hit our first goal of $1M on Kickstarter in less than 12 hours.”
The original Reading Rainbow ran from 1983 to 2006 and introduced generations of children to the wonders of reading. Now, thanks to the campaign, a new generation will learn that as well. Burton is hoping to adapt Reading Rainbow to today’s hyperconnected world, building off the success of the tablet app launched a couple of years ago.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com