The knowledge and skills kids learn today will prepare them for long-term success, including college and career readiness. Supporting all kids now helps make our schools, workforce, and community stronger. Summer programs provide so much more to kids in our community than a chance to catch up and stay on track academically. These programs provide the opportunity for children and youth to reach their full potential.
Education is one of our top strategic priorities at United Way - 46% of our funding supports educational programming. Getting kids ready for kindergarten, reading at grade level by third grade, and graduating on time with skills to be career and life-ready is critical to a community’s overall success!
Our whole community places a strong emphasis on education and support systems for children and families. We are excited to launch Read United! Read United is a year-round series of programs aimed to improve childhood literacy for all children in Whitfield and Murray counties. Through Read United, we seek to increase opportunities for achievement and brighter futures for all by ensuring that children reach important literacy milestones.
United Way is providing wrap-around support to ensure our children learn to read and then read to learn! To kick off summer we are investing in literacy for our children and youth. United Way of Northwest Georgia is bringing back - Keep Kids Thriving, a program of our Read United initiative. This program provides tools and resources for young children to help prevent the summer slide. Did you know that summer learning loss, which is what happens when schools are out and young minds sit idle, accounts for two-thirds of the achievement gap in reading between low-income children and their middle-income peers by ninth grade? (Source: National Summer Learning Association). Reading proficiency and literacy is vital to the success of our community. Children with reading difficulties are more likely to experience health and behavioral problems, teen pregnancy, premature departures from school, trouble sustaining employment, and even poverty.
The good news is that we can close the gap and help students stay on track even when they are out of school through our Read United literacy programs -Keep Kids Thriving, Little Free Libraries, Born Learning Trials, and Community Partnerships! United Way of Northwest Georgia is making sure kids have access to books, enriching activities, and a caring adult to help them improve their reading skills.
This summer United Way of Northwest Georgia is partnering with Dalton Public Schools, Murray County Schools, and Whitfield County Schools to provide FREE books and volunteers at school lunch sites to help prevent the summer slide through our Keep Kids Thriving Program. The volunteers visit each site weekly, ensuring that the youth can choose books they want to take home to read and start their at-home libraries.
United Way also has Little Free Libraries in every park in Whitfield and Murray counties. The Little Free Libraries promote literacy and community-building by supporting book exchanges. The purpose of these libraries is to provide a place where all readers in the community can share books throughout the year. Through these programs, United Way of Northwest Georgia is building a strong more educated community - one book at a time.
At United Way of Northwest Georgia, we are proud to provide free and accessible summer programs to kids in Whitfield and Murray counties. Our programs make sure all kids have the same opportunity to thrive. Kids in Whitfield and Murray counties benefit from these programs because of generous donors and supporters in our community. We look forward to expanding these programs so more kids can reach their full potential and thrive!
Help Us Continue to Make an Impact!
- Donate new or gently used children's books to support summer learning (drop off at United Way office 816 S. Thornton Ave or place in one of our Little Free Library locations - ourunitedway.org/little-free-libraries
- Volunteer to pass out books at one of our Keep Kids Thriving locations email stephanie.hogshead@ourunitedway.org to learn more!
- Donate now - ourunitedway.org/give
If you would like to learn more about our Keep Kids Thriving campaign or donate, please visit www.ourunitedway.org/read-united.
Live United!
Amanda Burt is the President of United Way of Northwest Georgia.
The mission of United Way is Improving Lives. Inspiring Donors. Uniting Community.