100 Pre-K Students to Get Free Monthly Books

The Rotary Club of Peachtree City and the Fayette County Public School System are working to help improve literacy skills among the county’s pre-k students.

The club has signed an agreement to establish the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy program in Fayette County. It has committed to funding 100 eligible pre-k students enrolled in the county’s school system.

Students participating in the program will receive a book delivered to their homes each month via U.S. mail until their fifth birthday. The children’s classic, “The Little Engine that Could,” is the first book each child receives and “Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!” is the final graduation book that is received when the child turns 5-years old. An expert committee composed of individuals from education, child development, academia, and early childhood literacy has carefully selected the books.

The purpose of the program is to increase early literacy skills by encouraging parents to read to their children at home. Research shows that the more words a child hears, the larger the child’s vocabulary, and the more likely the child will be a proficient reader. Parents cite one of the main reasons why they do not read with their child is the lack of quality books in the home.

In addition to receiving a monthly book, each child also gets a library card along with tips for the parents on how to read aloud with their child.

The program is free to participating families in Georgia and is made possible through private donations, corporate sponsorships, and grants. It costs about $36 per child, per year.

For more information about the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy program, contact Clarice Howard, coordinator of the Fayette County Public School System’s pre-k program via email at howard.clarice@fcboe.org or call 770-486-0149; or contact Karen Stephens of the Rotary Club of Peachtree City via email at karenannstephens@yahoo.com.

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Rotary Makes Literacy Donation

Peachtree City Elementary After School students (L-R) Kennedi Miller, Alexandra Duran, Christine Peterson and Jack Shafman eagerly look through the books donated by the Peachtree City Rotary Club.

Students in the Peachtree City Elementary After School Program have hundreds of additional books to read, thanks to the generosity of the Peachtree City Rotary Club.

The club donated the books as part of its initiatives for promoting early childhood reading and after-school care. Students will use the books for leisure reading as well as when working with reading tutors and mentors assigned to them during their stay in the after school program.

In addition to the books, the club also made a monetary donation to the Friends Mentoring Program.
“The Rotary Club has been so kind to After School and Friends Mentoring over the years. They understand the impact that a caring community can have on the overall education of our students,” says Jane Gough, program manager for the Friends Mentoring Program.

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Fayette Middle School Student Helps Peers in Jamaica Get Books

Growing up with immediate access to books through school, the county library, and bookstores, Adriannea Smith couldn’t believe it when she learned that her cousin had no books to check out at school. She decided then and there to do something about it.

Adriannea, an eighth grader at Fayette Middle School, and her family were visiting with relatives in Jamaica when she learned that students there do not have library books to take home. Her cousin told her that a ship from England comes twice a year with books that children can check out and return when it comes back.

“My reaction when I learned that children couldn’t get books was shocked. I couldn’t believe that they didn’t get books at their own school or that there wasn’t any bookstores around the block,” Adriannea says.

When she returned home, Adriannea approached her parents about organizing a book drive for Jamaica during Fayette Middle’s spring Literacy and Arts Fair. After securing permission from Principal Sharlene Patterson, Adriannea went to work making plans on how to publicize the event and get her classmates interested in participating.

“A couple of days before Literacy Night I handed out lollipops that had a label around them that said ‘Donate a book to Jamaica on Literacy Night!’ I handed out the lollipops all over the school to the kids and they were excited and said they would donate a book,” Adriannea explains.

Donate they did. Adriannea had a mental goal of collecting 250 books; her final total was 430. Students donated a variety of books including fiction, classic novels and resource materials such as dictionaries and grammar books.

Adriannea is an avid reader who enjoys fictitious crime mysteries and books about teen girls in school. She says books are something every student should have access to because they are as educational as they are entertaining.

“Books give students something to do in their spare time. They learn new things like words and have something to talk about with friends,” she says.

Adriannea is not done. Next year she will attend Fayette County High and hopes to have even bigger book drives. Any one who would like to help Adriannea with her quest to provide books to Jamaica can do so by contacting Anne Smith at 404-512-1770.

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Fayette County's New Illustrated History Book

The Fayette County Chamber is offering a new illustrated history of Fayette County for a limited time at an introductory price of $25. The beautiful new book, Historic Fayette County, is authored by Fayette’s official county historian, Carolyn Cary, who has captured Fayette County’s history and heritage from its creation in 1821. Read about the first inhabitants of Fayette, the story of the burning courthouse, how Fayette fared in the war between the states, stories of old communities, and much more! The book is filled with photographs from the past to the present, with a painting of the old courthouse on the cover by established artist and Fayette resident, Vicki Turner.

The community is invited to join Carolyn Cary and Vicki Turner at book signings on Saturday, October 3, 2-4 pm at the Fayette County Public Library, 1821 Heritage Park Way or Sunday, October 18, 2:30-4 pm at the Fayette County Historical Society, 195 Lee Street, Fayetteville. Refreshments will be served. For more information, visit www.FayetteChamber.org or call the Chamber at 770.461.9983.

Books can be purchased at the book signings or at the Chamber office at 200 Courthouse Square, Fayetteville.

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