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Usha Vance launches reading challenge prize website
The initiative aims to boost childhood literacy and combat learning loss during the summer months.
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Malvika Choudhary - Wed, 22, Jul 2026
- 18:12 EDT
- 28
Usha Vance / X@SLOTUS
Second Lady Usha Vance launched the prize website for her 2026 Summer Reading Challenge, allowing eligible students to claim rewards after completing the program.
The website allows students in kindergarten through eighth grade who submit a reading log documenting 12 books read between June 1 and Sept. 4, along with a reflection, to select a reward from an online prize shop.
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"Reading is its own reward, but I'm excited to announce that kids who participate in my Summer Reading Challenge will also receive fun prizes this summer.
Congratulations to everyone who has already completed the Challenge - enjoy picking out something special on the new prize website! And if you haven't started, there's still plenty of time to make this the best summer of reading yet," Vance said.
The online prize shop features rewards from Crayola, Walmart, Wendy's, Dairy Queen, NASA, and other partners.
Available prizes include tickets to the Crayola Experience in Florida or Pennsylvania, Scouting America Summer Reading Challenge patches and mini Scout Life magazines, Dairy Queen and Walmart gift cards, a selection of 24 Scholastic books, admission to the National Children's Museum in Washington, D.C., Crayola markers, Wendy's Frosty coupons, and Freedom 250 and NASA-themed patches and stickers.
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In addition to a prize from the online portal, participants will receive a personalized certificate of completion, a letter from the Second Lady, an America 250-themed bookmark produced in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, and an entry into a raffle for a visit to the White House.
The White House said the initiative aims to combat summer learning loss, noting that 2024 reading proficiency levels declined by 31 percent among fourth graders and 30 percent among eighth graders during the summer break.
More than 20,000 students submitted reading logs during the program's 2025 pilot, according to the White House. Officials said submissions for the 2026 challenge are currently running at three times the level recorded at the same point last year.
The 2026 program also includes an expanded prize selection, stronger partnerships with schools, libraries, and community organizations, greater accessibility for children with learning and developmental differences, and commemorative items celebrating America's 250th anniversary.
Discover more at New India Abroad.
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