Archway Hosts Successful Community Literacy Celebration

On Thursday, July 19^th, the Dalton-Whitfield Archway Partnership hosted a fun festival at the Gaston Community Center to celebrate community leaders’ recent commitment to literacy.  Over 2,000 members of the Dalton-Whitfield community participated in the event, which was planned by Archway Partnership volunteer Pam Partain and many other dedicated volunteers.  The Archway Partnership’s  goal was to ignite a passion for reading within the community.


The crowd enjoying the festivities of the Community Literacy Celebration.

At the event, the new “Readers to Leaders” logo that will mark future literacy efforts was unveiled on t-shirts provided by Mohawk Industries. 

The new Readers to Leaders logo.

There were many activities for children to participate in at the Readers to Leaders event. There were reading corners which were packed with children of all ages enjoying the fun variety of books being read. Inflatables were also an enjoyable activity for all who participated.

A volunteer reads to the eager children at the Readers to Leaders Celebration. 

Craft tables were set up where children could make their own bookmarks and hand fans. After every craft, participants were rewarded with colorful stickers, pencils, and “I love to read” wristbands.

A young Readers to Leaders participant making her own bookmark.

The event featured healthy snacks and refreshments. There were also information booths along every side of the Community Center’s lobby. These booths were set up to inform community residents of many of the literacy opportunities that Dalton-Whitfield has to offer. The Northwest Georgia Regional Library and Big Red Reads gave away free books to everyone.

Two children enjoying the books they recieved at the Readers to Leaders Celebration.

Thanks to the hard work of many volunteers, Archway’s Community Literacy Celebration was a huge success.  For more on this event please view the Dalton Daily Citizen’s Article at http://daltondailycitizen.com/local/x333949603/Community-comes-out-in-force-to-support-reading

Special thanks to the many organizations and volunteers that made the event possible: