Literacy Event Brings Volunteers to Local Schools

Thursday morning was story time for every first grader in Horry County.

Volunteers reported for duty in classrooms along the Grand Strand to read a book called “Peanut Butter & Cupcake” to the young students, followed by friendship-building activities.

The event, called United to Read, is a joint effort between United Way of Horry County and Black River United Way, with an eye to putting more than 300 volunteers in 300 elementary classrooms in Horry, Georgetown and Williamsburg Counties.

Myrtle Beach Primary School boasts 314 first graders in 14 classrooms, the largest population of first graders in Horry County, according to principal Christy Arnette.

“The first graders are our upperclassmen, and each classroom has somewhere between 22 and 26 students, depending on placement,” she said.

Thursday marked the first United to Read event, and Arnette saw this as a positive thing for learning and growing children.

“It’s wonderful for children to have volunteers connecting with them – especially in this population – having concerned and caring adults is everything that they need. We are just so thankful to have them here with us today,” she said.

For Arnette, reading to children can foster a love of books, reading and literacy.

“Any time you see a positive adult role model reading a rich book, it promotes a positive approach to learning and encourages children to follow that,” she said.

Because United Way of Horry County did all the front-end work to get the volunteers to the schools, this was also a point of gratitude for her.

“All I had to do was get the volunteers into the classrooms, so I had the easiest job,” she said, adding that she hopes to have them come back as often as once a month if they can.

“I invite anybody and everybody to come to Myrtle Beach Primary and see the good things we are doing here.”

United Way of Horry County marketing and communications coordinator Meredith Millen said that education is one of the three pillars of the organization.

“Our board really put their stake in the ground when it comes to early childhood education, and we really wanted to make a statement, not only to our educational system but to our community – to say that this is really important to us,” she said.

Millen sees this event as a way to help get United Way of Horry County moving forward and working more closely with area schools.

“I want the community to see the great things that are going on in our schools and help connect those volunteers with the schools to foster a relationship with them and keep the ball rolling between them,” she said.

Myrtle Beach Primary School first grade teacher Whitney Conner said that having someone new to read to and interact with the children is always a good thing.

“They love meeting new people – and seeing people from around the community that they don’t normally get to see,” she said.

Conner reads to her 4-year-old daughter, and hopes that she will have a love for reading by the time she gets to first grade.

Volunteers Anna Davis and Angela DiPierro came to the United to Read event on behalf of Target, which regularly holds team member giving campaigns. The United Way factors into this equation.

“At Target, community giving and volunteering has always been and continues to be the cornerstone of our company,” said Davis, adding that Target is committed to education and helping to build strong communities.

DiPierro said that these giving campaigns offer every team member the opportunity to make an impact in their neighborhood.

“Last year, Target’s team members donated more than one million volunteer hours in partnership with organizations like United Way to help the communities where we do business, work, live and play,” she said.

Millen said that 26 of the volunteers were retirees and the remaining 129 came from 75 participating businesses.

Volunteer Jennifer Bloomer represented CrossCountry Mortgage in Myrtle Beach. This is her second volunteer effort with United Way of Horry County. She participated in the United Way Day of Caring in September.

As for United to Read, Bloomer said she thought it would be fun to read to the first graders.

“I thought it would be a good experience. The kids light up whenever you read to them and they participate,” she said.

As a mom herself, Bloomer has seen the benefits firsthand.

“The impact is huge, she said. You need to read to your children every night.”

She cited Dr. Seuss’ books in general – as well as “Go Dog, Go,” by P.D. Eastman and edited by Seuss – as favorites.

The United to Read book selection, “Peanut Butter & Cupcake,” written and illustrated by Terry Border, was provided by Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

Border, who is also a photographer and humorist, told the Sun News that it was an honor to have one of his books chosen to be read at the event.

“Finding friends is the theme of “Peanut Butter & Cupcake,” and that’s challenging for all of us at one time or another. If kids are encouraged and hopefully have a laugh or two, maybe they’ll find that reading can be really fun,” he said.

This story was originally published November 17, 2016 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Literacy Event Brings Volunteers to Local Schools."