Delta Kappa Gamma Mu Chapter Supports Ferst Readers

Pictured above: Pat Tidwell, Coweta Ferst Readers Board chairman and Mu Chapter member, gave a report on the work of Ferst Readers locally at the April meeting of Delta Kappa Gamma’s local chapter. Coweta Ferst Readers is an annual Mu Chapter project.

From Delta Kappy Gamma Mu Chapter Press Release

Reading to children from birth to age five is one of the best ways to ensure they graduate from high school. So many success stories are made possible by something as simple – and fundamental – as a book.

Mu Chapter, the local organization of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society, an honor society of women key educators, supports literacy initiatives and emphasizes the importance of encouraging reading and literacy skills from an early age. One way the chapter does that is by supporting Ferst Readers, to which it donated $622 at its April meeting, enough to send 150 books to children.

Mu members Pat Tidwell and Nelda Boren serve on the Coweta Ferst Readers Board of Directors as chairman and secretary, respectively. Karen Moseley and Dr. Nina Wimbley, also Mu members, serve on the group’s Community Action Team.

“Registered children from birth to age five are mailed a book each month addressed to them. Each book is accompanied by a newsletter containing helpful tips and book-centered activities to help parents better engage with their child while reading,” Tidwell said.

“There are about 8,000 children under the age of five in Coweta County. Ferst Readers currently serves 2,500 of them, and we would like to serve more,” she said. 

Science has determined that 85 percent of a child’s brain is developed by the age of three, but most low-income families – 61 percent – do not have a book suitable for a child.

“Reading is the key to success in school and in life. Exposure to early literacy resources provides a brighter future for every child, and the entire community benefits from lower school dropout rates,” Tidwell said. “It levels the playing field. A child registered in the program at birth can potentially have a personal library of 60 books by the time they are five years old.”

When a child is registered for the program, the first book they receive is titled Read to Me. “This book is really addressed to the parent. It explains the importance of reading to children in these early years for vocabulary development, and it explains the mechanics of reading,” Tidwell said.

“The last book sent is Will I Have Friends in Kindergarten?” she said. “In between those books, each month the child is sent a bookstore-quality, age-appropriate book at no cost to the family. For babies, those are board books that they can play with and teeth on. All books are selected by the Ferst Readers state organization. Only those with a minimum of two literary awards are considered.”

The panel of experts selecting books include reading specialists, children’s librarians, educators, and child development specialists.  

“The only qualifications for a child to be enrolled to receive books from Coweta Ferst Readers are that they live in Coweta County, are under the age of five, and have someone register them,” Tidwell said. To register a child for the Coweta County Ferst Readers program, visit Ferst Readers’ website (https://ferstreaders.org/) and fill out the online registration form. 

“It costs $50 to send a child a book each month for a year,” Tidwell said. Individual donors have an opportunity to support one child or multiple children by making a tax-deductible donation to Coweta Ferst Foundation, Inc. In addition, the organization raises funds through a coin drive conducted in partnership with the Coweta County School System, and it hosts the Lewis Grizzard and Catfish Memorial Bike Ride each October.

“The organization has no paid positions,” Tidwell said. “Everyone working with it is a volunteer. All money received goes for books.”

The non-profit Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy was started by Robin Ferst Marhaver in Madison, Georgia, in 1999 to close this gap. Robin had a vision of serving every county in Georgia, and out of that vision many chapters – including ours in Coweta – were started. The organization is currently serving 31 Georgia counties and has local groups in six states.

The DKG Georgia State Organization honored Robin for her work with childhood literacy by inducting her as its first honorary member.

In 2017, the foundation was rebranded as Ferst Readers to more accurately reflect its vision: To place quality books and useful literacy resources in the home during a child’s earliest and most critical stage of development.