New GIVE Center program supports childhood literacy

Homecoming week at Georgia College has always been an event to remember. This year’s Homecoming will be no different. Between unveiling the Bobcat Statues, softball, baseball, basketball games and a live concert featuring B.o.B, it will be a busy week for Georgia College. However, with dozens of things going on throughout the week, Georgia College is still finding a way to give back to the community.On Feb. 15, The GIVE Center will be putting on Paws for a Cause. There will be white paw prints painted in Tailgate Alley in the Centennial Center parking lot. They will be selling the paw prints to individuals or student organizations to decorate however they choose.

The paw prints will be on sale for $36, and all proceeds go to benefit the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy. The foundation’s mission is to “provide books for local communities to prepare all Georgia preschool children for reading and learning success.” The foundation mails a new book to the child’s home each month, up until age five and serves 78 counties in Georgia.

The results of programs like these have proven to be very successful. According to the foundation’s website, in order to directly measure the impact of book distribution of the Imagination Library, A Dollywood Foundation program that inspired the Ferst Foundation, the Dollywood Foundation organized a study. The results were published in November of 2003 and reported “85% of the total sample reported reading with their child almost every day or more.”

The GIVE Center will provide green, blue, and white paint, but any other color will have to be provided by the buyer of the paw print. Many student organizations are planning on buying the paw print to promote their group.

According to SGA president Zach Mullins, SGA will most likely paint their paw print green with their logo. SGA has been very involved with this cause by promoting and marketing Paws for a Cause on the Homecoming website.

“I’m very excited about this particular project because aside from helping children in need and children literacy, it also enables student organizations and individuals to purchase a section of the school and claim it as their own,” Mullins said.

According to Kenneth Morris, marketing graduate assistant working for The GIVE Center, there will also be a contest to judge the best-decorated paw print. The winner will get a prize, which has not yet been announced.

“I’m excited about (the event.) The $36 goes to sponsor a child. They get a book a month for a year. I think that is great,” Morris said.

The event beings at 1 p.m. on Centennial Drive, and judging begins at 5 p.m.

Posted by SabrinaChandler on Feb 10 2011. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.