Literacy Council

The Bulloch County Literacy Council's 5th Annual Reading Nook Photo Contest is accepting entries and votes online through Feb. 28.

This year's contest features two categories in which you may enter and vote online for your favorites. Use the button above. Simply submit photos of your child reading either at home or in one of the 50 plus reading nooks that the Literacy Council has placed in local businesses. Better yet, snap photos of you reading to your child. This is a fun way to encourage reading and build a literacy rich community.

For a list of community reading nooks, view the Reading Nooks tab below.

Winners will be announced at the Literacy Luau, on Tuesday, March 4, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Statesboro High School, and will be featured in the March 6 edition of the Statesboro Herald and on Bulloch County Schools' social media. Winners will receive a collection of books and supplies for their own home reading nook.

In cooperation with its presenting sponsor, Kids World Learning Center, and with support from the Statesboro Herald, this is a Literacy Council and Bulloch County Schools initiative to improve preschool literacy.

50,000 + books distributed

through our Book Bus, Lit-O-Matic Book Boxes, book drops, and our

Literacy Luau, Kids Reading Nook Photo Contest, and other literacy events.

Who We Are

The Bulloch County Literacy Council is a collaborative group of educators, representatives from literacy organizations, business and civic organization leaders, and community volunteers. Its purpose is to sustain a community collaborative that works to increase Kindergarten readiness for students from birth through Pre-Kindergarten and to support the improvement of literacy levels for all children in Kindergarten through fifth grade.

The Literacy Council's Bulloch READ initiative:

Reading: Encourage the creation of Reading nooks.
Environment: Encourage a literacy-rich Environment.
Access: Increase Access to book and reading resources.
Development: Increase early brain Development.

How We Are Creating a Literacy-Rich Environment in Bulloch County

Book Bus

Bulloch County Schools envisioned a place where all children could access age - appropriate books in an inviting, welcoming mobile location. Launched in May 2019, the Bulloch County Schools Book Bus makes stops throughout the county to provide free books to children. Without the support of the community, this would not be possible. Since the Bulloch Book Bus began making stops in our communities and neighborhoods, it has facilitated the distribution of more than 40,000 books to children.

Sharing Libraries

The Bulloch County Literacy Council and Bulloch County Schools have further increased access to books for Bulloch County children. Seven newspaper boxes have been converted into sharing libraries for children and an extension of our Book Bus across the county. They will be placed at Luetta Moore Parks' Jones-Love Cultural Center, Boro Sno, Lanier's IGA in Portal, and El Maguey in Brooklet. Thank you to Whitfield Signs and the Statesboro Herald for their assistance with this project. Funding was made possible in part by a Community Transformation Grant from the Georgia Department of Education and donations from local sponsors.

Luetta Moore Park sharing library dedication

Reading Nooks in Homes & the Community

The Bulloch County Literacy Council encourages the creation of reading nooks as part of its Bulloch READ initiative. A reading nook is a comfortable place where children can enjoy looking at or reading a book or having one read to them. It can be as simple as a corner of a room or a special chair with a basket of books. Reading nooks increase children's access to books and early brain development. We encourage the creation of reading nooks in the community and at home.

Community Reading Nooks

Thanks to local business partners, we have now placed 46 reading nooks in our community which have made more than 10,000 books available to children for free. Children may pick out a book from any reading nook to take home and keep. Pick out a reading nook to visit today from our list.

List of Community Reading Nooks

Home Reading Nooks

Through our annual Reading Nook Photo Contest and the Literacy Luau, held during Read Across America Week, we have helped 56 families win the supplies to create reading nooks in their homes. Home nooks also encourage children's interest in books and reading and parents reading to their children.

Our Book Bus, community reading nooks, book drops, and literacy events also help increase the number of books children have access to at home.

"According to the United States Department of Education, up to 61 percent of low-income families do not have any books for their kids at home. This impacts early language and literacy skills for preschool children and puts them at a significant disadvantage for learning to read on grade level by third grade."

Reading Nook Photo Contest

The Bulloch County Literacy Council's annual Reading Nook Photo Contest is a fun way to engage families and the community in creating additional reading nooks in homes and local businesses. Reading nooks encourage reading and reading aloud to children, especially those ages birth to five-years-old.

Held each February, participants (parents, family members, teachers or caregivers) may enter the contest during the entry period:

Visit one of our community reading nooks or your own home reading nook
Upload a digital photo of yourself reading with a child, ages infant to five-years-old, in their favorite reading nook, to the online contest area of the Statesboro Herald's website during the contest period, which will be linked on this site.

The community can vote online at the same website, and winning entries are featured inside the Statesboro Herald at the end of Read Across America week.

The contest is sponsored by the Statesboro Herald and Kids World Learning Center.

Literacy Tips

How You Can Help

Volunteer

Volunteer to sort books, stock the Book Bus, or help at one of our literacy events, etc.
Support the work of the Bulloch County Literacy Council and its partner organizations
Establish a reading nook in your business or host the Book Bus at your community event

Donate books

Donate new or used books at the Bulloch County Board of Education located at 150 Williams Road, Statesboro, Georgia.
Sign up to have your business become a book collections site.

Make a financial contribution

Make a tax-deductible donation to the Bulloch County Literacy Council. Send checks to:

Bulloch County Literacy Council
c/o Bulloch County Schools
Attention: Crystal Simpkins
150 Williams Road
Statesboro, GA 30458

Contact Crystal Simpkins at 912.212.8892 for more details.