Saluda County First Steps and the City of Saluda held a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week to celebrate the opening of a StoryWalk® and Born Learning Trail project in the Saluda Town Park. The project was a collective community effort led by Saluda County First Steps executive director Kim Chariker.
“My vision for the StoryWalk® and Born Learning Trails (English and Spanish) was to provide the young children of Saluda County and their families a place to come together and share language, literacy, family fun activities, and to encourage learning as a family,” said Chariker.
Each of SC First Steps local partnerships operates as independent 501-C (3) non-profits, giving them the unique ability to leverage private dollars. Saluda County First Steps took advantage of its unique status and connected private funding from the Save the Children Foundation with city resources.
“When I was contacted by Save the Children to apply for the grant for the StoryWalk® and Born Learning Trail, I immediately made a presentation to our Town Council requesting permission to use the Saluda Town Park for the projects,” said Chariker. “Once they gave their approval, they also offered the use of the town maintenance department to help with the installation of the projects. This has truly been an act of full community support and partnership for the families of young children in Saluda.”
StoryWalk® is an educational activity designed to inspire parents, teachers, and other adults to take young children outdoors to enjoy reading stories together. It helps build children’s interest in reading while encouraging healthy outdoor activity for both children and their caregivers.
“The StoryWalk® and Born Learning Trail have already impacted the young children in our community,” said Chariker. “Providing these projects for our community to encourage families to get outside and share learning with their children will be valuable for early learning and support families as they share educational activities with each other in our Saluda Town Park.”
Saluda County First Steps 