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2025 Survey

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Changing Children's Lives With the Gift of Literacy

Changing Children's Lives With the Gift of Literacy

Imagine a young child receiving a book in the mail every month until the age of five. What better way to say reading is important? Children enrolled in the Ferst Program receive a new book every month in the mail until their 5th birthday. There is absolutely no cost (ever) to registered children in participating areas! The program is made possible through the partnership with local, all-volunteer Community Action Teams (CATs).

Ferst Readers is a 501C3 organization whose funding is provided through private donations, corporate sponsorships, and grants. Contact us to help with a local program or get a new one started in your area so that we may work together to bring the gift of literacy to every child from birth-5 years old. Partnering together, we can help prepare every child for success in school and in life.

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Watch the full length video by clicking here.

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  • For Parents

    The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children. Read More >>>
     

  • Program Overview

    Our Mission: Strengthening communities by providing quality books and literacy resources for children and their families to use at home during the earliest stages of development. Read More >>>

  • Get Involved

    Approximately 61 percent of low-income families do not have a single piece of reading material suitable for a child. Find out how you can help. Read More >>>
     

Ella M.

“I absolutely love this program! Sometimes, as working parents, it's easy to fall into a reading-rut, but this program keeps me motivated to read to my son and keeps us reading new and exciting things! We are so grateful for the Ferst Readers and find it such an amazing organization!”
- Ella M.

Susan S.

“My daughter and I are equally excited when the books arrive in the mailbox. This program has helped support a love of reading for both of us. I appreciate that the program often sends books I have never heard of to expose my daughter to a wider variety of reading content. After repeatedly reading the book Stanley the Builder, we were driving around and I heard my daughter exclaim from the back seat, "Look Mommy, a crane and a mixer!" Sure enough, we were passing a construction site and my daughter had just linked the vocabulary from the book to her real life. How awesome!”
- Susan S.

Brandy S.

“Thanks for all the work you all put into this program to ensure the program remains free. Sometimes money can be tight and Ferst Readers guarantees my little ones have access to fun literature that they can call their own!”
- Brandy S.

Mike Griffin

“By the age of three, children from low-income households have only half the vocabulary of their more affluent peers. This difference impacts whether the child reads on grade level and eventually whether that child is likely to graduate. Books provided through the Ferst Readers provide the words that feed children’s minds and help drive their success in school and in life.” I helped start Ferst Readers program in Henry County because of an article about the program’s impact in GeorgiaTrend magazine. I instinctively knew that our kids needed those books, too. We have now mailed almost 100,000 age-appropriate books to children in our county.”
-Mike Griffin
Vice-Chair, Henry County Board of Education
Founder and Former Chair, Ferst Readers of Henry County
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Thank you for visiting Ferst Readers!

Ensuring that children develop early literacy skills is one of the most important things we can do - as parents, as teachers - and as a society.

Won't you help us make a difference?

Adopt a reader today!   Make a Donation!