Toccoa Fire Department helps celebrate the Summer Reading Program

By Jessica Waters

This past Friday, July 7, the Toccoa Fire Department responded to the parking lot at the Toccoa-Stephens County Public Library on Savannah Street – but this time they were there to deliver fun, not fight fires.

To celebrate the success of the 2023 Summer Reading Program, the library’s Children and Youth Director Shantelle Grant worked with TFD personnel to arrange the “end-of-summer” celebration with the help of a fire truck and a lot of cool wet fun to counter Friday’s high temperatures.

“This is our end-of-summer finale party, and i am so thankful to Toccoa’s finest fire department for always being available,” she said. “We know we may have an emergency, and if they have to go, they have to go, but they are always willing  to come and support the library in whatever programming we have. And i must say this is one that they love, because they like to participate, too!”

Grant said local children involved in the library’s summer reading program had met or exceeded the program’s 1,000-minute goal, and Friday’s celebration was her way of thanking the participants.

“The kids have read so much this summer,” she said. “Every child was challenged to read 1,000 minutes. We’ve had some to exceed that goal. So this is my way of saying ‘thank you,’ and I just want them to have fun, and know that reading is fundamental, and it’s fun.”

Grant said there were even books the kids could read at the library about firefighting and firefighters, and added that the End of Summer party with the Fire Department also served the secondary purpose of letting area children talk with local firefighters, becoming more familiar and comfortable with first responders as well as learning about the fire trucks, adding that other events coordinated with the Fire Department help promote that goal, also.

“They get to ask these firefighters any questions that they have, and if they want a tour of the truck, they can have that,” she said. “I always  invite the firefighters back during fire prevention month. They come and they dress in full gear and they have the kids come up and talk to them, and hear the sounds they would hear if they were in the home in an emergency, so that they will be well prepared and know what to do. Stop, drop and roll, but first, call 911.”

Grant expressed thanks for the support of community partners, and the student’s parents, for the success of the summer reading program at the library.

“I also want to thank all of our community partners, because without our community partners, because without the community partners of Toccoa-Stephens County, our summer reading program here at the library would not be as successful as it is,” she said. “And I also thank my parents, because without them, I wouldn’t have the children to teach how to read, and show that reading is fun.”

Grant said the adult summer reading program was also going well, and invited the public to visit the library’s web page to learn more about the programs offered by the library, and encouraged residents to come visit the library.

“We do have an adult summer reading program, it is going very well,” she said. “So check out our website, check out our Facebook page, but most importantly, come and see us at your Toccoa-Stephens County Public Library.”

Upcoming events at the library include a bath-fizzies craft project for all ages on July 18 at 11 a.m., and the Summer Program Finale, Wildlife Wonders, for all ages at 11 a.m. on July 20.

For more information on the Toccoa-Stephens County Public Library and the programs they offer, visit toccoastephenslibrary.org.