Promoting Literacy for Local Kids
Books for Keeps is a local nonprofit that provides books to over 9,000 students across 5 counties. Their goal is to create equal access to books and allow children to connect with the joy of reading. Through literacy and book distributions, they foster positive learning experiences at an early age.
One of the biggest programs for this organization is “Stop Summer Slide” which promotes literacy development during the summer months when kids are out of school. Books For Keeps distributes nearly 130,000 new, high-interest books to students in 21 elementary schools through this program. A newer notable program is Family Literacy, which allows parents and caregivers to expand on the tools they’re already using at home to develop literacy skills.
Books For Keeps is also the proud steward of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library for Athens Clarke County. Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free, high-quality books to children from birth to age five, no matter their family’s income. Children in the program receive one book per month.
This year, Books for Keeps is proud to be partnering with the Creature Comforts “Get Comfortable” campaign to implement a new program at H.B. Stroud Elementary School for the 2022-23 year. This exciting new program will build out classroom libraries and create grade-level mobile libraries filled with high-interest books to supplement their annual book distributions. It will also create one-on-one and small group literacy-building opportunities by training volunteers to support the work already being done by teachers. The new programming was created with the intention of scaling it up over the next four years across the district with the support of “Get Comfortable”.
Books for Keeps is inviting you to get involved! Their programming relies on thousands of volunteers each year to help in their warehouse, host book drives, prepare a Community Book Fair, and distribute books to children in schools each spring. Information on how to donate or help with any of the Books For Keeps programs, visit booksforkeeps.org or on our social media, and be sure to sign up for their email list to hear the latest on all they’re doing to help Georgia’s kids read.