Grace Church Outreach Ministry: Ferst Readers
This article is part of a series spotlighting nonprofit organizations that receive funding through our Grace Church Outreach Ministry. We seek to partner with organizations that work to make a meaningful difference in one or more of the following areas:
- Supporting individuals experiencing poverty and housing insecurity
- Expanding access to essential services for underserved populations
- Advancing community health and wellness
- Increasing the availability of educational opportunities
One of these organizations is Ferst Readers of Hall County.
Learn More about Ferst Readers
MISSION
Ferst Readers mission is to strengthen communities by providing quality books and literacy resources for children and their families to use at home during the earliest stages of development. We improve early learning outcomes for children, birth until they turn five, mailing free age-appropriate books monthly to their home and providing parents with literacy resources.
VISION
Our vision is, through this program, to increase the number of children entering school with the necessary skills for learning success. We want to positively affect the number of children who graduate from high school.
OVERVIEW
Ferst Readers was founded in 1999 in Madison, Georgia to address the growing problem of children entering kindergarten without basic literacy skills and school readiness. It has grown to 10 states and over 85 counties in Georgia. The Hall County chapter began in March, 2021 with 3 children and has grown, as of today, to 994. We have sent out over 21,000 books.
IMPACT
Our target population are all children ages birth until age five. The program benefits the participants by helping develop skills they need to be successful in school. Ferst Readers children demonstrate better reading behaviors, are much more actively engaged during story time and are letter listeners. Ferst Readers parents are more engaged across the board in their children’s academic progress than non-Ferst Readers parents.
IMPORTANCE
The Ferst Readers program is open to all children regardless of income, race, religion or gender. We recognize that more than 60% of low-income households do not have a single book suitable for a child. Hall County families reflect 50.2% are not self-sufficient and need public assistance. Based on a United Way study, 60.4% of children ages 3-4 do not attend pre school and 68% of all students are not reading at grade level proficiency.
Our goal is to make a difference in the lives of children in our community.