United Way of Central Georgia’s READ UNITED and Friends of the Library Macon are proud to unite this Saturday, June 27th to distribute about 7,000 free books to children from across Central Georgia. Due to an excess of books on the shelves at the library, extra donations of gently used books, and library closures, Friends of the Library Macon teamed up with United Way of Central Georgia’s childhood literacy initiative, READ UNITED, to help combat the “summer slide,” a term often used to describe the loss of literacy gains a student makes during the summer months [when school is out of session]. The drive-thru book giveaway will meet social distancing guidelines while provided prepackaged, gently-used bags of 8-10 books per child from 9 am-1 pm at 2720 Riverside Dr in Macon on June 27th. The bags are separated by grade level appropriate reading: preschool-1st grade, 2nd grade-5th grade, and middle-high school. Each child will receive a bag of books, but children do not have to be present to receive the books.
“With the abrupt change in learning from in-person to distance learning this year, it’s extra important that all children continue to read during the summer,” said Shelton Land, United Way of Central Georgia’s Education Program Manager. “A child must read to be able to succeed. Partnering with Friends of the Library Macon on this project is a true joy where the winners are the over a thousand children of Central Georgia, who will open one of these books and feel the joy a book can bring.”
“It just breaks my heart that the children of Central Georgia are stymied socially and scholastically by school and library closures during this pandemic,” said Friends of the Library Macon President, Jack Cartwright. “It’s been said that a house with at least 20 books makes a significant impact on a child’s life. Doing this event with United Way is something I’m so excited to be a part of.”
For more information on the event, visit the Facebook event page.