Pike County Family Connection L4GA Literacy Project Team and Ferst Readers are working together to provide every child in Pike under age 5 with access to books. The goal of the program is to “create better learners, brighter futures and stronger communities by giving a child access to quality books.”
Ferst Readers was founded in 1999 to address the growing problem of children entering kindergarten without basic early literacy skills and school readiness, a preventable problem that has far-reaching impacts throughout students’ lives.
“The recipe for early school success is simple: start school with strong literacy skills. Ferst Readers’ recipe for encouraging early literacy development is even simpler. Ensure children have developmentally appropriate books in their homes and provide parents with resources supporting them as their child’s first teacher,” says FerstReaders.org.
Currently, there are 176 children in three Pike County Pre-K programs who receive free books from Ferst Readers each month.
“The goal is to increase the number of students to 200 children per month receiving books,” said Pike Family Connection director Michael Powell. “We will need to raise $800 per month (or $9,600 per year) to help these children get a boost in their learning. You can sponsor a child for $42 annually.”
To donate, go to bit.ly/PikeFerstReaders or scan the QR code.
Those in the program can exchange books for new ones at Little Free Libraries in Pike, including at the Williamson Walking Trail, 1828 Coffee Co., Barnstormer’s Grill, the GMC Zebulon campus, the Head Start office in Zebulon, United Bank in Zebulon, the Pike County Health Department, Concord City Hall and in Hilltop in Concord.
Ferst Readers is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to strengthening communities by providing quality books and literacy resources for children and their families to use at home during the earliest stages of development. Children enrolled in Ferst Readers receive a developmentally appropriate book mailed to them at home every month from birth until age five. The organization sends books to children in 11 states each month at no cost to the recipients.