Ferst Readers

The single most significant factor influencing a child’s early educational success is an introduction to books and being read to at home prior to beginning school, yet 61% of low income families do not have even one age-appropriate book for their child in the home. This lack of language/literacy exposure at an early age is the one of the key reasons children enter kindergarten without basic early literacy skills and school readiness. In fact, an array of consequences including obesity, academic failure, substance abuse, teen pregnancy and juvenile delinquency have been linked to a child's literacy level and correlated with inadequate early exposure to books. Ferst Readers’ overall goals and objectives are to: 1) provide quality, age appropriate books for children birth to five, mailed to them at home every month 2) provide parents with the resources they need to be effective as their child’s “first teacher” 3) partner with local organizations to support early literacy efforts in the community 4) increase the number of children, especially from low-income environments, entering school with the necessary skills for learning success 5) positively affect the number of children who graduate from high school