College takes part in Little Bookhouses of Glynn initiative

Brunswick, GA – College of Coastal Georgia is taking part in a community-wide initiative to challenge residents, businesses, civic organizations and churches to promote early literacy in downtown Brunswick.

A partnership between Glynn County PTA Council and Family Connection, the initiative, better known as Little Bookhouses of Glynn, was created to encourage students in Pre-K through elementary school to continue reading throughout the summer months with the hopes of inspiring them to reach new levels of academic excellence year ’round.

Members of Coastal Georgia’s Office of Academic Affairs, along with nearly 30 other organizations, took part in the community supported project.

Donning a shade of blue and an inscription saying, “Set sail to new horizons through reading,” Dr. Laura Lynch, Assistant Vice President for Faculty Affairs and Associate Professor of Mathematics, said the project does not only benefit the students and organizations taking part, but those who may not have had the support and guidance to finish school.

“We have a lot of people here who haven’t gone to college or haven’t finished high school, so to promote literacy at a young age – even encourage our own students to do the same – gives them something for which to aspire,” Dr. Lynch said.

Seeing the tremendous work being put in to designing, building and painting the project was worth the few missing fingerprints, joked Dr. Tracy Pellett, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.

“This project is another representation of the service nature of the institution. The little book house itself is a commitment and connection to the community through our encouragement of literacy,” said Dr. Pellett, who worked on the project with Lynch and Connie Hiott, Faculty Affairs Specialist.

To kickstart the project, the Glynn County PTA Council and Family Connection conducted book drives at all elementary schools, scouted middle school teams to volunteer to help on builds, and held a friendly competition between Brunswick High and Glynn Academy to do the builds with Golden Isles Career Academy. The houses were built throughout April and May and will be placed in approved parks in Glynn County following a Bookhouse Show on Friday, June 2 at First Friday in downtown Brunswick.

The show will be judged and a house from each of the three categories – Business, Non-profit and School – will be awarded Best Bookhouse. The ongoing project will be monitored and restocked on a daily basis.