I wonder how many lives have been changed for the better because of this endeavor. How much did this save society in social ills and costs? This is why I placed this under the label of Church and Family Philanthropy as faith based preventive christian philanthropy if you will.

100 years of free Bibles-"NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Gideons are celebrating a century of handing out Bibles.
Close to 1.5 billion Scriptures have been distributed since 1908, when the Gideons International first began placing Bibles in hotel rooms.
Since then, the nondenominational evangelical group run by businessmen has extended its reach, giving out free Scriptures at hospitals, schools, prisons and in the military as well.
The majority of Gideon Scriptures -- about 60 percent -- are given to students.
But several school districts throughout the U.S. have been sued or threatened with legal action by groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, which argue that distribution of Bibles at public schools is unconstitutional."
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