A Partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

In South Carolina, it is estimated that one-third of South Carolina children do not have the literacy skills needed to be successful in kindergarten.  Recent testing suggests that as much as 67% of the state’s third graders are not reading at grade-appropriate levels.  Children who fall behind in reading proficiency are more likely to drop out of school, be unemployed, and live in poverty.

Having books at home is the key to a child’s success.  It sounds too simple to be true, but research has shown than children growing up in homes with books get three years more schooling than children from bookless homes, regardless of income or their parents’ education.

– Reading aloud is widely recognized as the single most important activity leading to literacy acquisition
– A child’s brain grows to 80% of its full size by age 3.
– Children with as few as 25 books in the home complete an average of two more years of schooling than those with no books.
– Reading to a child in an interactive style raises a child’s IQ by 6 points

My First Books SC is preparing children in South Carolina for kindergarten and a lifetime of success by helping them build a home library.

When you support My First Books SC, you are directly helping a young family set a solid foundation for their children both in school and in life. Getting a book in the mail each month keeps the excitement alive and encourages families to read together. It costs $33 per child each year to deliver books right to their homes.