pictured: MES/MMS Media Specialist Miranda Thigpen reads to MES students.
“How can I make sure that my child reaches their potential?” is a question that most parents ask themselves when they first hold their newborn baby. Candler County’s Literacy Council wants to help parents get their children off to the best possible start through the Ferst Foundation’s Ferst Readers program.
Ferst Readers, whose motto is “A child’s path to a brighter future is paved with books,” is a program that provides one book per month from birth through age five to every child who has been registered into the program. The Candler County Literacy Council has restarted The Ferst Readers program that was previously offered to children in the area about 14 or 15 years ago.
“Jill Powell brought Ferst Readers to Candler County then,” explains Miranda Thigpen, Media Specialist for children attending Pre-K through eighth grades in Metter. She remembers this because her oldest child was registered with Ferst Readers when she was a baby. “Now, my daughter is a teenager!” she exclaims.
Although Thigpen is the schools’ Media Specialist and has contact with parents of young children through school-related events and activities, she insists that the Candler County Literacy Council is not a part of the school system. However, many of the people involved with the Literacy Council are school personnel. This makes it possible for Council members to make a connection between early childhood literacy and school since the two are so closely related.
In order for a child to be enrolled in the Ferst Readers program, Thigpen says, the only requirement is that the child be between birth and five years of age, and they must be a resident of Candler County.
“There are no income restrictions or other requirements,” she insists. Upon registering a child, that child will receive one book per month by mail until their fifth birthday. At that point, the child will probably already be enrolled in Pre-K or kindergarten where they will have regular access to books through the school library and the classroom.
Thigpen explains the process for registering a child. There is a form that must be completed and returned to the Candler County Literacy Council. That’s it! Currently, Candler County children cannot be registered online.
“The forms are available at the school, at various literacy events that are held throughout the community, and at the L.C. Anderson Memorial Library,” explains Thigpen.
Completed forms can be returned by mail or by dropping them off at the school or at the public library. Children can be registered before birth, at birth, or at any time prior to their fifth birthday. “If a child is registered before or at birth, they will have a personal library of 60 books by the time they turn five!” she states.
“Once a child is registered, they will receive a book in the mail every month,” she reiterates. However, along with the book, there will be a guide for how the parents can best utilize the book to help their child get the most of their gift from the Ferst Foundation. Both the books and parents’ guides are provided in English and Spanish, making it easy for all parents to help their child’s literacy to grow.
Since the Ferst Readers Program was restarted two years ago, as many as 179 books have been mailed to children in Candler County during a month. As of July 2025, there are 169 children enrolled in the Ferst Readers program in Candler County.
One might wonder how so many books can be given, free of charge, to so many children. “The books are provided by donations to the Ferst Foundation,” explains Thigpen.
Donations can be made online at the Ferst Foundation’s website or by making an in person donation through the Candler County Literacy Council.
She cautions, “It is important to make sure that donations made online indicate that the gift be directed for Candler County, Georgia.”
In addition to financial support from individual donations, the Candler County Literacy Council has received funding through the Parent Connection as well as receiving a Walmart Grant to help fund providing books to youngsters in Candler County.
Along with the Ferst Foundation’s Ferst Readers Program, the Candler County Literacy Council has another early learning initiative in place. That program, called The Basics, operates on the premise of providing “language nutrition” to youngsters. “The Basics stresses the importance of conversation,” says Thigpen. She adds that it also encourages less screen time for youngsters.
“Last year, we partnered with Rashida’s Daycare to provide The Basics to parents of young children,” explains Thigpen. She explains the connection between The Basics and Ferst Readers, “The Basic is about how important talking to children is and Ferst Readers says, ‘Here’s the resources.’”
During the partnership with Rashida’s Daycare, Thigpen noticed that the parent meetings became sort of like a support group for moms and dads, all of whom are trying to balance children, work, home and life in general. As a group, they discussed ways to incorporate talking with their children while doing necessary activities or chores that might otherwise lead to a child being given ‘screen time’ in the form of a phone, tablet or television.
“Cooking, shopping, and just living life gives plenty of opportunities for conversation if we take advantage,” Thigpen says, adding, “I have to remind myself of this too!”
The next step for the Literacy Council is getting the community involved, not just the child’s family. An example of this is the recent reading event that was held in The Jungle, the high school football stadium.
Thigpen explains, “People of all ages were urged to spend time at the football field reading together.”
“We (the Literacy Council) are giving businesses and the community gentle reminders about encouraging literacy among young children,” Thigpen states. She indicates that having books available out in the community is a part of this. Whether through the Free Little Libraries found outside of some businesses or Book Benches inside others, the idea is to get kids reading, talking, and growing their brains.
All of these things work together with the Candler County Schools’ SWIRL (Speaking, Writing, Illustrating, Reading, Listening) initiative, which is an integral part of education from birth to adulthood.
The Candler County Literacy Council has booths at local events and festivals. It also sponsors literacy events throughout the community.
For more information, contact Miranda Thigpen in the Media Center at the Candler Pre-K-8 facility (912-685-5050, extension 0436, or by emailing her at mthigpen@metter.org .
Learn more about the Ferst Foundation at www.ferstreaders.org and The Basics at www.thebasics.org.