First Book

Do you remember the magic of your first book? Many low-income children never feel the thrill of owning their own books, and as a result enter school ill prepared to learn basic literacy skills. Statistics from the National Institute for Literacy show that only 31 percent of fourth graders read at or above proficiency, and only 1 percent write at an advanced level; this is especially grim considering that over 60 percent of low-income families have no books at all for the children in their homes.

In an effort to reach these children, the Colom Foundation partnered with the national literacy non-profit First Book. In May 2003, the Foundation established a First Book Local Advisory Board in Columbus. By the end of the year, the L.A.B. had distributed over 270,000 books to needy children in Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana and Tennessee.

Since then, the Foundation and First Book have continued to work together to nurture literacy among underprivileged children. In 2005, the McGraw-Hill Foundation gave First Book-Greater Golden Triangle an 8,100-book grant. These books were distributed to 17 Head Start centers and over 30 day care centers across Mississippi. Many of the targeted day care centers were very small. Some of them only served 10 children, and so would not have been eligible for help from the state.

To date, the Colom Foundation and First Book-Greater Golden Triangle have distributed more than 350,000 books to children in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas and Georgia.

“There is no greater inheritance a society can give its children than the power to read. Whatever else is given – money, land, faith, freedom – will soon be lost by a generation that cannot command the written word,” said Colom Foundation President Wilbur O. Colom. “These books we are giving will help, but what we need more than anything are parents who that will read to their children. Parents must accept that their children need them to read to them more than they need to shop with them or buy them the latest name-brand clothing. It’s the reading, not the rags, that counts.”

For more information on First Book-Greater Golden Triangle, or to learn how to apply for a book grant, please e-mail greatergoldentriangle_ms@firstbook.org.