United Through Reading

The anonymous donor behind the largest foundation contribution to United Through Reading, a San Diego-based nonprofit offering deployed service members the opportunity to read stories to their children from over 200 recording locations around the world, has made himself known to the public. Since 2007, the Iraq Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund of the California Community Foundation, funded by David Gelbaum, a private Southern California-based philanthropist, has contributed $860,000 to the United Through Reading Military Program. “The funding provided by Mr. Gelbaum through the Iraq Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund has helped enable United Through Reading to increase the number of military beneficiaries we served by 457 percent in the past three years,” says Sally Ann Zoll, EdD, president and chief executive of United Through Reading. “We are pleased to now know who to thank for this fantastic support of military families. We are deeply grateful.” (www.unitedthroughreading.org)   JANE SHIOMI