Freedom Readers is a small group of lovers of the word who work with children one-on-one in underresourced communities. Membership is open to all competent readers 16 years old and older.

We will begin meeting on Monday afternoons from 3:00-4:30 at Darden Terrace apartments in Conway and Wednesday afternoons at the same time at Huckabee Heights apartments. The program begins the week of January 11 and will end April 30.

We need lots more volunteers—especially retired educators. All volunteers must complete two hours of training and read our volunteers guide.

We need donations of brand new picture books appropriate for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Our current goal is to raise at least 240 brand new books by the January 11kick-off.

My contact information is below. Books can be mailed to

P.O. Box 30548

Myrtle Beach, SC 29588

 

Hey Everyone! This is Tracy Bailey, the “better half” of the Proud. Black. Southern. team. Issac and I are committed to investing in our community by broadening educational opportunities for all young learners. Through Freedom Readers, we hope to help empower, motivate, and positively impact the futures of area students through literacy. Below you’ll find the transcript of a presentation I made to fellow members of Christ Community Chruch where Freedom Readers is a part of the Love in Action network. For more information, contact me at tlbailey@coastal.edu or 843-251-1804. Check back often for updates on the growth of this grassroots initiative!

 

 

Not too long ago, in a house on a dirt road not too far from here, a father and his daughter played out a nightly ritual. The daughter, her teeth brushed and dressed in warm PJs is tucked into bed. The father, tired from a long day at work, settles into a chair and reads his baby girl a story. The daughter listens intently, her mind traveling to distant places, believing that her daddy hung the moon. The daddy, having walked away from formal schooling after completing the 8^th grade, reads with gusto and passion and feeling.

 

The daddy in that story is my father. And the daughter in the story is me. And I would not be writing this having spent almost 15 years of my life dedicated to the education of young people if it had not been for that nightly ritual.

 

I’ve had the awesome opportunity to visit schools in cities around the country, and I know first hand that we have wonderful schools in Horry County with dedicated and caring teachers who are making a difference in the lives of young people. However, they can’t do it alone. Schools need our help.

 

This understanding is how the idea for Freedom Readers was born. Here are a few facts and statistics that paint the picture of why this program is needed.

 

• More than $2 billion is spent each year on students who repeat a grade because they have reading problems. 
• In a class of 20 students, few teachers can read with each student individually.
• Children whose families are below the poverty line are less likely to be read to every day than those with higher incomes.
• Reading aloud to children builds listening skills, increases a child’s attention span, and develops the ability to concentrate at length.  

It’s my desire to reach out to the families of the most vulnerable children in our surrounding communities and share love through the sharing of good books. The basic outline for the program is simple:

 

1.      Adults meet with a young reading partners once a week for an hour – ninety minutes

2.      Read a book or two with your partner at each meeting

3.      Give that child a gift of a brand new book for his or her home library.

 

 I’m excited about this because I believe that we have  the opportunity to be a part of a kind of extreme makeover…the makeover of an entire life, a heart, a future, the makeover of hopes and dreams….the makeover of a mind.

 

So, if you share this vision and think you’re ready to possibly stand between a young man and the prison doors, if you have a heart for planting good seeds in the lives of young women, then I would be honored to have you stand with me.  The hands-on work will begin in the Darden Terrace and Huckabee Heights communities in January 2010.

 

This is an opportunity to make a substantial long term investment in our community in much the same way that my own father invested in me. Let’s not forget the words of 1 Cor 13…Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Let’s not miss this chance to continue to put that kind of love into action.