Chris Foster wasn’t sure they’d have enough books.
Based on attendance at previous book giveaway events with each child receiving up to 10 books each, Foster estimated that they’d need between 3,000 and 4,000 books for the Literacy is Health: Books For Shay event March 9 at the HUB for Community Innovation Augusta.
“After stamping and sorting them, we found we had 7,000 books. Holy Cow!” said Foster who along with his wife, Chasity, head a non-profit called Smile for Shay in honor of their daughter Shaylin Foster who was killed in a car accident in 2018.
Acts of kindness, scholarship and literacy are among some of their inititatives.
“My daughter was known for her kindness, her empathy and her love for reading,” said Mrs. Foster. “We started talking about the need for books for children.”
In 2019, the Fosters started gathering books to be given to children who may not have any in the home, partnering with one of Mrs. Foster’s former professors at Augusta University.
“In so many households, kids don’t have access to books for a lot of reasons,” said Kim Barker, an AU education professor, who assisted with a literacy walk at the March 9 event. “They were already doing acts of kindness and all sorts of things. They messaged me ‘We’re going to do a book drive. Do you know where they should go?”
Barker knew exactly where to deliver that batch of books they’d collected. It was on the cusp of the COVID shutdown in March 2020 when Barker facilitated their delivery to Jenkins-White Elementary School and set up the distribution.
“The whole school circulated through there,” she said.
Leftover books were shared with children at Wilkinson-Gardens Elementary School and Glenn Hills Middle School.
Barker said there’s also a bookshelf at the school in Shaylin’s honor.
“The Shelf for Shay – it’s white and has rainbows on it. Kids can always get books off the shelf,” she said.
Many children in Richmond County read below their grade level and the lack of books in the home is part of the reason, said Laurie Cook with RISE Augusta, one of the organizations housed at the HUB.
“Books in the home make a difference in reading ability,” she said.
And if parents are concerned about being able to put food on the table, books won’t necessarily be on their priority list. Providing the books free can get them in the homes where children are able to read them.
Barker said giving children books they enjoy reading makes a huge difference.
“Research shows if you give kids what they want to read… you get more benefit to their reading achievement than summer school,” she said.
The book giveaway resembled a book fair set up. In addition to the books, there were medical screenings as information about women’s health.
The Fosters called Saturday’s event a success.
“We’re very, very pleased with how things turned out,” Mrs. Foster said. “We’re very overwhelmed with all the support.”
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for 35 years. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
