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Metro Atlanta

About First Book

First Book provides new books to children in need, addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy access to books. An innovative leader in social enterprise, each year First Book distributes millions of free and low-cost books to disadvantaged children and the programs that serve them.

In the past seven years, First Book-Metro Atlanta has provided more than 40,000 new books to over 8,000 children in the five county Metro Atlanta area. The children come from traditionally underserved areas, where research shows that more than 60% of families own no age-appropriate books. They are enrolled in a variety of early learning, after-school and family care programs administered by neighborhood associations, schools, churches, and hospitals.

Children receive an average of 9 books per year from our Advisory Board. These books are incorporated in the curriculum and are theirs to take home and keep, so they can start nurturing their love for reading.

Book Grant Recipients

First Book-Metro Atlanta has given book grants to many programs. We serve the 5-county Metro Atlanta region -Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton, Cobb and Gwinnett.  We accept book grant requests in October and award all funds by December of each year. 

A typical book grant lasts for a 12 month period and offers each child in the program a steady diet of books (usually one book every 2  months), all at no cost to the program. Because program administrators select the titles from the First Book Marketplace, our book grants enable programs — often for the first time — to select books to integrate into curriculum.

We are proud of the community support we have received to give children of Atlanta a chance to own new books. The following are some of the organizations serving children from low-income families that have received book grants from First Book-Metro Atlanta:

• Beyond the Bell
• City of Atlanta Centers of Hope
• Clarkston Family Resource Center
• Clayton County Schools Early Reading First PreK Program
• Communities in Schools of Atlanta
• Factor Support Program
• Families First, Inc.
• Foreverfamily, Inc.
• Friends of Refugees
• Gate City Day Nursery Association
• Girls Incorporated of Greater Atlanta
• Hickory Hills Elementary After School Program
• Independence High School Teen Mother Program
• International Community School
• Jumpstart
• Juvenile Justice Fund
• Keeping My Kids, Inc dbc Cornerstone Academy.
• Kelley Lake Elementary School
• Lake Forest Elementary K9 Kids Program
• Literacy Volunteers of Atlanta
• Next Generation Focus
• Northwest Youth Power
• Osborne Prevention Task Force
• Rainbow House, Inc.
• Refugee Family Services
• Scottdale Child Development & Family Resource Center, Inc. of Central DeKalb
• Sheltering Arms Early Education & Family Centers
• Starhouse Foundation
• Women's Resource Center to End Domestic Violance
• Wonderful Days Daycare
• Woodland Elementary
• YMCA Academies of South DeKalb

Find out how to Receive Books for your organization.

Local Sponsors and Donors

First Book-Metro Atlanta is able to provide brand-new, high-quality books to children in our community thanks to the generous financial contributions of local businesses and individuals like:

• Borders
• Target
• SunTrust Mortgage

To serve as a sponsor, contact us via email.

First Book Wants You!  

We are looking for passionate, entrepreneurial people who want to make a difference in their community. Help us get books to kids who need them most.

Contact Us

You can contact us by sending an email.