Contributed photo Pictured in the front row, left to right, are Alisha Wilson, Davone Moseley and Jaylen Wilson. In the second row are Makayla Wilson, Paulette Wall, Delani Reep and Tyler Hebert, and in the third row are Kaylie Hebert and Payton Smith. Not pictured are Team Leaders Mamie LeGrand and Betty Patterson.

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In an effort to address issues regarding illiteracy, the KFC 4H group recently collected books to present to Richmond County Schools. These books will be distributed to the homeless children and/or youth within the county.

Last year, Richmond County Schools served 153 homeless students. This school year, 15 students have already been identified as being homeless. Statistics show that 25 percent of adults (18+) in Richmond County don’t have a high school diploma and 19 percent of adults (18+) lack the basic literacy skills.

Paulette Wall, Homeless Coordinator Community Liaison for Richmond County Schools, accepted the books on behalf of Richmond County Schools.

“We (KFC 4H) are grateful and appreciative for every opportunity given to exemplify love in serving our community,” said Mamie LeGrand, a program coordinator-evaluator with the Richmond County Partnership for Children.

“The mission of our group is to inspire children and/or youth to be all they can be,” LeGrand said. “We empower our youth to love and appreciate themselves, to see the value in others, and to invest in their community. We instill morals, values, integrity, and build character in an effort to deter our youth from becoming another statistic relative to teenage pregnancy, substance and/or alcohol abuse, gang violence, prison, etc.”