Celebrating 125 years of literacy, Carroll County’s Literacy is for Today and Tomorrow (LIFT) program is accompanying Horton’s Books and Gifts in their 12.5K run, story walk and one-mile Fun Run at the GreenBelt Trailhead at Hobbs Farm. The purpose of Horton’s fundraising event is to advocate the importance of reading and physical wellbeing. The event is set for Saturday, Sept. 17 and is the third literacy walk held in Carrollton so far.
LIFT is located on 200 Northside Dr. in Carrollton and is considered to be an educational service for Carroll County. Their mission is to “improve the overall literacy rate throughout Carroll County, Ga. with an emphasis on adult education and to provide financial assistance to those striving to obtain their GED.” They also take pride in being a unique educational program in partnership with the community dedicated to promoting and supporting literacy training. Some of their sponsors advocating for the scarce funding of adult literacy are the Rotary Club of Carrollton: Dawnbreakers, Wal-Mart and Kiwanis International, an international service club dedicated to impacting communities around the world.
Horton’s Books, located in Adamson Square, is known as the oldest bookstore in Georgia; it has been in business since 1891. Besides books, they showcase gift items and periodicals. Their collaborative event with LIFT is considered their one-time birthday celebration.
Along with LIFT, the Chloe Fund and Ferst Foundation are also helping with the fundraiser by providing books for children ages five and under, including newborns.
The Chloe Fund, named after Horton’s store cat, is a non-profit program that works with local agencies to provide books to underprivileged children. Along with the Find Waldo Local program, the Chloe Fund helped promote childhood literacy at the second annual Where’s Waldo 5K and Fun Run on June 25.
Ferst Foundation, which was founded in 1999, is a public non-profit that strives to address the growing issue of children from low-income families entering school without basic literacy skills; they also provide books for local communities. With their motto stating, “Early Learning Success Begins at Home,” Ferst concentrates on improving early learning opportunities for every child, regardless of race, religion or income.
“I’m looking forward to it,” said Horton’s owner Dorothy Pittman. “I think LIFT and the Chloe Fund are good organizations. The support from sponsors and the public are fantastic.”
The celebration includes three different parts: the 8-mile run at 8 a.m., the Story Walk at 8:30 a.m. and the Fun Run at 9 a.m.; all are a part of the fundraiser. Dedicated for children, the Story Walk goes through Hobbs Farm where participants will read different sections of a children’s book with literacy stations on the way. T-shirts and other prizes will be distributed to winners for each race. Besides this race, Hortons’ is celebrating Banned Book Week Sept. 25 through Oct. 1 and Teen Read Week October 9 through 15.
