The Original Six Foundation holds a book drive with the SCDMV

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - There’s a huge effort underway by the Original Six Foundation to help steer kindergarten students to reading success and the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles is helping the nonprofit by offering a book drive at every one of its 66 locations in our state.

Kara Gormley Meadors is the executive director of the Original Six Foundation. Courtney Saxon is the SCDMV Director of Branch Services. She is responsible for all 66 of our branch offices throughout the state where the book drive is ongoing. They joined WIS TV Midday to invite the public to participate in the Original Six Foundations “My First Library” program.

The Original Six Foundation is teaming up with more than 30 public schools to provide South Carolina’s highest-need students with at-home libraries through a series of book fairs that will be held statewide throughout the month of May.

Meadors points out, “A Clemson University study found that 92% of kids say they are more likely to finish a book they picked out themselves. Students participating in the O6 My First Library program are invited to select 10 books from a diverse offering during the book fairs. Targeting resources at this stage of development is critical to a child’s academic success. Studies show that students who do not read proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to leave high school without a diploma than proficient readers. Poverty compounds the problem: students who have lived in poverty are three times more likely to drop out or fail to graduate high school on time than their more affluent peers. In addition, students suffered learning setbacks during the pandemic. An Amplify Education Inc. study found 40% of first-grade students were reading well below grade level in 2020, compared with 27% in 2019.”

Learn more about the Original Six Foundation at https://www.originalsixfoundation.org/.

And to donate early reader books for the SCDMV Book Drive, go to https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/BT32SAG0HGA3?ref_=wl_share for a list selected by teachers.

You can drop off the books at any SCDMV branch through March 31.

Go to https://www.scdmvonline.com/locations to find a DMV location near you.

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