fbpx

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.

Donate Now

Watch the full length video by clicking here.

  • Default
  • Title
  • Date
  • Random

  • 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 >>>
     

Participating Communities

We have partners in more than 100 counties and communities in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.* 

*Not all counties have open registration due to limited funding or because they have target programs. Go to Register a Child at the top of the page to determine if your county is taking online registrations. If your county is not listed, please contact us to find out if we are accepting registrations. You can call 706 343 0177 or email us at .

Alabama Counties: Tallapoosa

Georgia Counties:  Appling, Baldwin, Brantley, Brooks, Bulloch, Burke, Butts, Candler, Carroll, Charlton, Chatham, Cherokee, Clarke, Clay, Clayton, Cobb, Coffee, Coweta, Crawford, Crisp, Dade, Dougherty, Emanuel, Evans, Fannin, Franklin, Fulton, Gilmer, Glascock, Glynn, Grady, Greene, Hall, Hancock, Haralson, Heard, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Jones, Lamar, Laurens, Macon, Madison, McDuffie, McIntosh, Meriwether, Morgan, Newton, Peach, Pickens, Pike, Polk, Quitman, Rabun, Richmond, Rockdale, Schley, Screven, Seminole, Spalding, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taliaferro, Tattnall, Telfair, Toombs, Towns, Treutlen, Twiggs, Union, Upson, Walton, Washington, Webster, Whitfield, Wilkinson

Florida Counties: Baker, Bradford, Duval, Englewood, Gadsden, Leon, Marion, Nassau, Pinellas, St. Johns, Volusia

Illinois Counties: Cook

Iowa Counties: Madison

Mississippi Counties: Lincoln

Montana Counties: Cascade

North Carolina Counties: Forsyth

South Carolina Counties: Aiken, Charleston

Texas Counties: Dallas, Collin, Kaufman, Rockwall

Virginia Counties: Shenandoah

Special Partnerships: Engineered Floors, Friends of the Library Clayton County, NAACP Cherokee County, Northeast Florida Early Learning Coalition, LIV Development, United Alloy

Want to start a program in your area? Contact us to get started by clicking here:

Yes, I want to be a Ferst Readers Volunteer!

Supporters

$200,000 
The J. B. Fuqua Family

$100,000
Dollar General-Lead Corporate Sponsor

$20,000 to $40,000
The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, Inc.
The Home Depot Foundation
Atlanta Charity Clays, Inc.
J.W. Fund
The Lewis Hall and Mildred Sasser Singletary Foundation, Inc.
Tull Charitable Foundation
Georgia-Pacific and Georgia-Pacific Foundation
Community Foundation of South Georgia, Inc.
Pittuloch Foundation

$10,000 to $15,000
Imlay Foundation, Inc.
Williams Family Foundation of Georgia, Inc.
Bloomingdales, Inc.
Artie & Lee Richards
Atlanta Hawks Foundation, Inc.

$5,000- $9,999 
McMaster-Carr Supply Company
Lenora & Alfred Glancy Foundation, Inc.
Wish You Well Foundation
Jeanne Ferst
Peter Abreu
Mike Grimsley
The O'Keefe Family
The Devereaux F. & Dorothy M. McClatchey Foundation, Inc.

$1,000- $4,999
Meredith Corporation
John & Wilhelmina Harland Charitable Foundation
Asset Management Partners, Inc.
Mary & Francis Abreu Charitable Trust
Gay Knox Vaughn
Lois & Lucy Lampkin Foundation
Mr. & Mrs. Alexander G. Morehouse
Celeste Becker
Joe Jones
Bev & Don Chapman
Mrs. Smith Griffith
11 Alive Community Grant
CIBC
Dixie Industrial Finishing Co., Inc.
Mattie Marshall Foundation
Rotary District 6910
Mrs. Deen Day Sanders
Walton EMC
Diane Steinman
Ann Murray
Judie Meeks
Alice Jane Wasdin

In-kind Donors

Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Hawks
Blue Tailed Studio
Copper Mountain Consulting
Dream Team Technologies
Flambeau, Inc.
Georgia Public Broadcasting
IBM
James Madison Conference Center, Madison
Killer Whale Productions
Knock Out Inc.
Metropolitan Literacy Network
Peachtree Publishers
Printing Finishers
Reflections Printing
Start Hosting Now

Board of Directors

Robin Ferst, Founder

Margaret Hylton Jones,Chair
Owner, Margaret Jones & Associates

Susannah Balish, Vice Chair
Community Volunteer

Diane McClearen, Secretary
Director, Community Relations at Oglethorpe Power

Dr. Bill Rushing, Treasurer
Retired Economist, Georgia State University

Will Acree
Goldman, Sachs and Company

Dr. Stan DeJarnett
Retired Superintendent, Morgan County School System

Kattia Easterly

Eve Goldstein
Retired, Attorney

Nancy Hall
Former Interim Executive Director, Georgia Public Broadcasting

Alicia Johnson
Manager of Community Relations, Wellcare of Georgia

Dr. B.K. Johnston
Retired Educator/Community Volunteer

Margaret Quinlin
Owner, Peachtree Publishers

Charles Richardson
The Macon Telegraph

Everett Royal
Entrepreneur/Developer

Elizabeth Sprouse
Emory Healthcare

Gay Vaughan
Retired Real Estate Broker

Michelle Wells
Medical Physicist/Community Volunteer

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
×

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!