Read United Day

(!) IMPORTANT: READ UNITED DAY CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER CONDITIONS (!)

After carefully monitoring the weather across the region and consulting with our school and library partners, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the volunteer component of this year’s Read United Day on Friday, January 24th due to weather conditions. This was not an easy decision, as Read United Day is an extraordinary event that spans five counties, involves over 1,100 volunteer slots, and demonstrates the incredible collaboration and dedication of our community. However, the safety of our volunteers traveling across the region remains our top priority. 

Although we won’t be able to come together in person this year, our commitment to promoting literacy proficiency remains unwavering: 

• Students in Bryan, Effingham, Liberty, and Long Counties will still receive books as planned to encourage at-home reading across the region! 
• In Chatham County, classrooms will receive a book, and all students will be provided with a library card through our new pilot program with Live Oak Public Libraries as planned. And excitingly – we will still hold our library competition, which encourages students and their families to visit their local library, check out books, and spend time reading together. This initiative aims to foster a love of reading while promoting library resources as a hub for learning and community engagement. As an added incentive, participating schools and classrooms can win pizza parties for their efforts! We look forward to continuing to invest in this collaboration! 

We are deeply grateful for the partnerships with each of our school districts, our premier media sponsor WTOC, Live Oak Public Libraries, the generous sponsors who supported this event, and the remarkable dedication of our volunteers. Together, you make this event so impactful year after year. The generosity of this community inspires young readers and strengthens this region in meaningful ways. 

Thank you for your understanding and continued support. We look forward to building on this incredible tradition and making next year’s Read United Day even more successful! 

What is Read United Day?

The flagship program of Read United, Read United Day is organized in Bryan, Chatham, Effingham, Liberty, and Long counties. On these days United Way volunteers read to classrooms and give books to every student in our region in pre-k through 2nd grade. Read United Day has continued to expand over the years, and this past year, more than 950 volunteers read and gave free books to over 20,000 children in the region. Many students from under-resourced communities may not have access to books at home, and this is something we can help address.

This year, we are thrilled to announce that, in partnership with Savannah-Chatham County Public School System and Live Oak Public Libraries, we will use Read United Day as a platform to encourage students and their families to connect with their local libraries. By doing so, students will have access to five library books at a time for home use, providing them with a steady supply of reading materials. Bryan, Effingham, Liberty, and Long counties will implement Read United Day as they did last year, with volunteers visiting classrooms to read to students and each student receiving a book to take home.

The power of your donation

Through Read United, we seek to increase opportunities for achievement and brighter futures overall.
By donating you can help provide books to the children in our region.