United Way's Success By 6 helps children learn to read in Aiken County

Dede Biles, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·2 min read

Jul. 31—The United Way of Aiken County provides funding and other support for many partner agencies and programs locally, including Success By 6, which is designed to help youngsters learn to read.

"We hope that every child can eventually be literate by the age of 6 because studies have shown that if children aren't prepared by the time they reach kindergarten, it's hard for them to excel later," said Ellen Luton, the United Way of Aiken County's president and chief financial officer.

She spoke to the Kiwanis Club of Aiken on July 27 at The Willcox about the United Way's various initiatives.

Success By 6's efforts have included the creation of Born Learning Trails.

According to uwaiken.org, they are located at the Freedman Early Learning Center, Smith-Hazel Recreation Center, Harrison-Caver Park, Boyd Pond Park, Roy Warner Park, Summerfield Park, the park at the Aiken County Public Library and the Sprayground at Citizens Park.

The one at the Sprayground "is my personal favorite because we tailored it to the environment that it is in," Luton said. "It is bright and colorful and engaging. There are signs that correspond to the paintings on the ground that encourage parents and caregivers to interact with the kids while discovering a love of learning."

The United Way also is a sponsor of the city of Aiken's Story Time at Rye Patch/Story Time in the Gardens program. Each family in attendance receives a free book after listening to it being read by a volunteer.

In addition, the United Way's Bookworms effort helps children in kindergarten at Millbrook Elementary School develop their reading skills.

Success By 6 is affiliated with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which mails free books to children.

"Parents register them to receive these books, and they get a book once a month from birth to the age of 5," Luton said. "My kids all did it, and they loved going to the mailbox and finding their books addressed specifically to them. They thought it was fun."