Arizona Humanities has awarded $140,000 in grants to support K-12 literacy projects across the state. It's part of the organization's AZ Reads initiative.

Arizona Humanities Executive Director, Brenda Thomson said the funds will be distributed to more than 30 schools, libraries and early childhood reading programs.

“We find out what teachers need, but also we bring authors and poets and others to their schools and they do innovative writing workshops with kids and all kinds of experiences that help stimulate their interest and love of reading," she said.

Thomson added that the COVID-19 pandemic created a literacy gap in the state.

“We already had kids that were struggling to read, but not being able to be in school with their teachers, some kids fell even further behind," she said. "So these funds are used to both support teachers and also support students.”

The recipients of AZ Reads grants are often Title I schools that serve low income students and require more resources. Thomson said more and more teachers are applying for the funding.