Thanks from First Book nonprofit for community help

Many local nonprofit organizations succeed at their missions due to the generosity of people and businesses in their community that share similar visions. Team First Book-Horry County is no different.

First Book’s mission is to get new books into the hands and homes of less fortunate children, children who might not otherwise have books to call their own, to curl up with and imagine endless possibilities, or to read over and over again to themselves or to siblings. First Book volunteers raise money to grant to local groups so they can buy books at steep discounts to distribute to children who need books the most.

In 2015, Team First Book-Horry County raised $38,000 that was granted out to schools such as Whittemore Park Elementary, Socastee Elementary School, Green Sea Floyds Elementary School and North Myrtle Beach Middle School, among dozens of others.

More than one-third of funds raised in 2015 came from donors and sponsors, people and organizations in the community who care about literacy and putting books in the hands of children.

Team First Book-Horry County would like to extend a special thank you to Weichert Realtors Southern Coast, South Atlantic Bank and the Carver Fund for all of their continued support and donations. Due in part to their donations and generosity, more than 13,000 brand new books made their way into an Horry County child’s hands in 2015.

Barnes & Noble at The Market Common in Myrtle Beach also selected Team First Book-Horry County as the recipient for its holiday book drive. As a result, holiday shoppers donated nearly 4,000 new books to children in their community.

Team First Book-Horry County is operated by an all-volunteer board, but our work would not be possible without the generosity of the businesses and organizations listed above. A sincere and heartfelt thank you to each of them from each of us on the board.

First Book is already planning for another successful year. An upcoming fundraiser is set for April 9 at Inlet Affairs in Murrells Inlet that features local TV personality and author Diane DeVaughn Stokes. The luncheon includes raffles, silent auctions, door prizes and more. Tickets are $30 (the equivalent of 10 brand new books) and can be purchased from any First Book-Horry County board members. Call 843-349-2728 for more information.

The writer is chairwoman of Team First Book-Horry County.

This story was originally published March 5, 2016 at 7:15 PM with the headline "Thanks from First Book nonprofit for community help."