Kids Ferst
Hope Lutheran Church members are involved with Gilmer County’s Community Action Team Kid’s Ferst. The Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy was created with the purpose of getting books in the hands of all our preschool children. Currently there are 1,642 preschool children in Gilmer County, of which over 1,000 are enrolled in our program. For just $28 per child/per year, books are mailed on a monthly basis, free of charge, to each registered child from birth to 5 years of age.
We need your help and invite you to make a difference in the life of a child by sending a tax deductible donation to Kids Ferst in Gilmer County, P.O. Box 105, Ellijay, GA 30540. If each Bible study group or Sunday School class could sponsor a child, it would be a tremendous help! We are currently asking for partnerships in our 10 X 360 Campaign. Simply sign up to donate $10 monthly for one year. Our goal is to have 360 monthly donors which would cover the cost of the books for our community. But of course we welcome any contribution, whether it be participation in our 10 X 360 Campaign, a one time gift of $28 or in another amount, or your support by volunteering to help register children and spread the word. For more information, call Judy Harvey. Need more information? Check outwww.kidsferstingilmercounty.org locally or www.ferstfoundation.orgnationally.
Our reading section at the new location of the Gilmer Community Food Pantry continues to do well. If you're available to read to preschoolers on Wednesdays between 9:45 and 12:45, contact Eileen Below or the church office to volunteer. If you've not seen the new facility, be sure to drop by and check it out!
Please check the calendar to find out when the next Kids Ferst meeting will be. All are welcome!
Kids Ferst is doing very well thanks to the many people in our congregation who support our literacy program. Many contribute by donating every month to our “10 by 360” program to help fund the cost ($3,600 a month) of providing books to more than 1,200 children in our county under 5 years of age. Others support us by giving of their time and talent. Stan and Rena Ashworth, Eileen and Jerry Below, Joan Blomquist, Wayne and Ann Buehler, Judy and Emil Harvey, Susan and Mike Marler, and Christy Prisco are all part of our CAT (Community Action Team) Susan Marler has designed a child’s quilt and doll based on the book, The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister, translated into English by J. Alison James, for us to use as a Kids Ferst fundraiser. For those who do not have small children Susan has also made a wonderful “bear quilt” which also will be raffled off. Judy and Rudy Kruger contributed the beautiful quilting on these quilts. Winners will be announced at the “Light Up Ellijay” parade. Be sure to get your tickets from a CAT member and see these “works of art” on display at Hope’s OctoberFest on October 26th We are the people responsible for registering children, fundraising and coordinating our efforts with our parent organization Ferst Readers in Madison. Thank you all for the support you have given us. If you would like to become part of our CAT or learn more about our program, please join us at our next meeting on Friday, October 18th at 10 a.m. in the conference room at Head Start. _____________________________