As part of Springdale Elementary School’s annual Leadership Day on Friday, December 2, third grade students will donate more than 250 books and 90 bookmarks to the Macon-Bibb Mayor’s Literacy Alliance (MLA) for distribution throughout the community. The program will begin about 9:00 a.m. with each grade having a chance to present. Springdale Elementary is located at 4965 Northside Drive.

“Third grade is such an important year for reading and literacy, and I’m so proud of our children for selecting the Literacy Alliance to support,” says Dr. Cami Hamlin, Springdale Elementary School Principal. “They want to make sure all children have books to read because they want to share something they love doing and they understand how important it is.”

Leadership Day is annual event for Springdale Elementary where each grade makes a presentation about an organization they have elected to learn more about and support through service. In addition to the donation of books, third grade students have decorated their hallway with drawings of their favorite books on bookshelves and by hanging bookmarks from the wall.

The MLA will be on hand to accept the donation of books and then will identify organizations to help distribute them throughout the community.

“These students took this project very seriously, and we’re overwhelmed and truly proud of how successful their efforts have been,” says Mayor’s Literacy Alliance Executive Director Jim Montgomery. "I want to encourage all schools and organizations to come together to find ways to strengthen our community's literacy, whether it's reading, technological, or financial."

Mayor Lester Miller launched the Macon-Bibb Mayor’s Literacy Alliance (MLA) in September as a partnership with Central Georgia Technical College (CGTC) and the Bibb County School District (BCSD). Its goal is to help increase the graduation rate, decrease the drop-out rate, and lower the adult illiteracy rate by 50% over the next 10 years.

MLA serves as an umbrella for key organizations from public and private sectors of Macon-Bibb to collaborate as a Certified Literate Community Program (CLCP). It is reaching out to existing area schools, colleges and universities, community organizations, volunteer community leaders, students, and adult learners (public / private) to develop and implement a community plan for addressing literacy needs. They will each work to strategically raise community awareness and engagement by utilizing a focused agenda for improving literacy.