Newton Community Partnership is Newton County's collaborative agency — the boots-on-the-ground group connecting families to the resources they need. This year, we're growing our early literacy work into four connected programs reaching kids from birth through elementary school:

📚 RSS Club (Ready, Set, School!) — A free early literacy program for families, back after being shelved the last few years. This summer's relaunch had 15 families sign up, with 7 attending regularly — kids leaving every session with a new book to take home. We're using what we learned this round to grow attendance, add more sessions, and expand to more locations for the next session.

📖 Pop-Up Storytimes — New this year: monthly storytimes at parks around the county, in partnership with Newton County Parks & Recreation, bringing books to families where they already are.

👋 Parent Meetups (Building the Village) — New this year: low-key, drop-in gatherings for caregivers of kids ages 0–5, giving parents a place to connect while their kids play — because raising a reader starts with supporting the whole family.

🐾 Shelter Reads — NCP is proud to support Newton County Animal Services' Read-to-a-dog/cat program, helping kids build reading confidence alongside shelter animals. NCAS runs the program; NCP helps promote it and connect families.

Every dollar goes toward books, program materials, and volunteer support to keep these programs free for every family who needs them. Your gift supports the full slate of literacy programming — not earmarked to any single one — so we can put funding where it's needed most as each program grows. We're also looking to add even more programs in the coming months to help meet people where they are.

Not able to give financially? If you or your community group would like to volunteer, or donate books or supplies, let us know — we'd love to have you involved. Email Noreen at noreen@newtonpartnership.org.

Why this matters, in numbers: According to the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget, Newton County's population of children under 5 is projected to grow from 7,350 in 2025 to 8,461 by 2035. But right now, an estimated 1,469 four-year-olds live in the county, and only 736 (50.1%) are enrolled in pre-K — a lower rate than the state average. Of those 736, only 172 are from low-income families. Early literacy support outside the classroom is one of the few ways to reach the kids pre-K isn't currently reaching.

Growing Readers in Newton County

Four programs. One goal: every Newton County kid ready to enter kindergarten

Team Members