Andrews – In an effort to encourage local youth to read, a nonprofit is conducting an economic experiment of sorts.
One Dozen Who Care Inc. has teamed with the Andrews and Murphy public libraries to host a reading challenge for Cherokee County students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
Students will be paid $5 to read an age-appropriate book from the Purel Miller Collection and submit a book review. Students can earn a maximum of $20 but are encouraged to read more than four books.
“I don’t expect the littlest ones to say more than a few words [in their review], but we hope that the older ones will get into the book and give more,” said Janell Walden Agyeman, chair of the Purel Miller Collection
Committee. “We thought that we would offer a financial incentive and maybe that would sweeten the pot. We’re dealing with books that students might not typically look for of their own accord.”
Books in the Purel Miller Collection are written by or about black people. The collection has been housed at Andrews Public Library since 2012, and each book was chosen to help inform readers about African-American culture and the contributions of black people to the country.
There are hundreds of books in the collection, including a Hank Aaron biography written by Richard Scott Rennert, as well as a photography, sculpture and poetry book based on the artwork of William Edmondson, who heard God speaking to him and began to carve tombstones, birdbaths and human figures from stone. New books are added to the collection.
“We think this collection deserves a lot more attention, particularly at this time in our nation, where what we don’t know about each other is causing more havoc than it’s ever done before,” Agyeman said. “The idea is to cultivate understanding.
“We want the children to know about other people, who do not share the same cultural background. We want to encourage the children to get outside their reading comfort zones and try something new. We want to help the children to develop more empathy as we move forward in this American experiment.”
Reviews must be submitted no later than Sunday, Feb. 28, to pmcreadingchallenge@gmail.com. Financial incentives will be awarded during the first week of March.
For details about the Purel Miller Collection or the challenge, call the Andrews library at 321-5956.