SWANSEA, S.C. — A new Little Free Library is now a reality for residents in Swansea.
A local speech pathologist who attends Sharon Crossroads United Methodist Church off of N. E. Jeffcoat Road spearheaded the effort.
"A lot of my teacher friends were checking in with some of their families and they found that many of the families in our area have very few books in their homes," organizer Miranda Grice said.
Grice said they found the reason was often a lack of time or money. She said literacy is critical to a child's learning.
"Those pre-literacy skills, which includes language, then you're going to build their literacy skills, make them excited to want to learn new words, makes them excited to read books," Grice said.
The SC School Report Card Lexington School District Four, which includes Swansea, is four percentage points below the state average when it comes to language and literacy.
The report also shows out of third to eighth grade students, fifth grade students in Lexington Four are the least prepared in reading and writing for the SC Ready test.
"Our model as a church here is ... we are a little church that cares and so this project is to show our care for the community, where people can come and know what we're about to where we can give books to people who want them," Sharon Crossroads United Methodist pastor Ed Stallworth said.
Since library opened last weekend, about a third of the books have been taken, so the church knows it's getting good use by the community already. It's a way of opening a door to a whole new level of learning.