Walmart Donates Over 200 Books to Ferst Readers of Toombs County
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Walmart of Vidalia is contributing to the effort to promote early literacy in the area, as the store has donated funding for 285 books to Ferst Readers of Toombs County. Literacy is currently a hot topic for the Georgia legislature and Board of Education, as lawmakers and educators are actively seeking ways to improve literacy levels throughout the state. To accomplish this, a lot of new research has been performed, and has found that 85% of a child’s brain is developed by age three and 61% of low-income families do not have any books in their homes for children. Researchers have also de termined that the only behavior measure that correlates significantly with reading scores is the number of books in the home.
“If a child has not been exposed to a language and print-rich environment before entering kindergarten, they will enter school at least three years behind their peers," Ferst Readers of Toombs County representative Paige Williamson remarked.
After being informed about this need in the community, Walmart presented the organization with the monetary donation so that books could be purchased and mailed to children in the organization’s program. “Thank you, Walmart, for your generous support!” Williamson emphasized.
Ferst Readers is a 501C(3) nonprofit organization started in 1999 by Robin Ferst, an At lanta native confronted by employees with limited reading skills. Its mission is to strengthen commu- nities by providing qual ity books and literacy resources for children and their families to use during the earliest stages of development. For the last 24 years, children enrolled in the program have received a bookstore-quality, age- specific book, and a “Leap Into Books” parent engagement newsletter in the mail every month until their 5th birthday.
Since 2017, the organization’s Toombs County location has mailed thousands of books to children in the area, from birth to age five, to enable them to enter kindergarten with reading readiness skills. The cost for these monthly packages is just $42 per year per child, and funds are raised in each community through donations from individuals, businesses, and grants. To learn more about the Ferst Readers program, visit the organization’s website at www. ferstreaders.org.
To donate to Ferst Readers of Toombs County, a check may be mailed to Ferst Readers, PO Box 1327, Madison, GA 30650 (please put Toombs County on the MEMO line), or contributions made be made online by visiting www. ferstreaders.org and selecting Toombs from the drop-down menu. All money raised in Toombs County stays within the county. For more infor- mation about Ferst Read ers of Toombs County, contact Paige Williamson by email at familyconnection9@ gmail.com.
