Kingdom Kids Little Free Library Project

CHARLOTTE COUNTY – On these beautiful spring days we invite you to take time to drive through the county to visit the awesome Little Free Libraries that have been planned, constructed, sanded, painted, and installed by the Kingdom Kids of Ash Camp Baptist Church!  These nationally registered libraries are now located in Keysville (War Memorial), Drakes Branch (Farmers’ Market), Charlotte Court House (Bank of Charlotte County), Phenix (Municipal Building), Saxe (Post Office), and Wylliesburg (Tastee-Freez).

Special appreciation goes to each town whose councils allowed us to place these, and to the property locations of Eric Sherman, owner of Wylliesburg Tastee-Freez, and Dexter Gilliam of the Bank of Charlotte County.  Our gratitude is also extended to Alpha Delta Teacher Sorority and Charlotte County Retired Teachers Association who donated funds and numerous books to the project.  Ash Camp members also donated hundreds of books and continues to be a collection site for used adult and children books to help replenish the libraries.  Special thanks goes to the following who helped with this yearlong project:  Sandy Flynn (Kingdom Kids Coordinator), Austin Agee (Assistant), Ted Smith (head carpenter), Katy Clarke for help with artwork, installers and helpers (Danny Flynn, Ed and Kay Ashley, Augusta Carwile, Gerry Pettus, Jay George, Alison Freeland, Jeanie Stallings, Ross Gallion, David and Kay Lucado).

Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization that inspires a love of reading, builds community, and sparks creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges around the world.  More than 75,000 public book exchanges are registered with the organization and branded as Little Free Libraries, and six of those now have homes right here in Charlotte County!  Through Little Free Libraries, millions of books are exchanged each year, profoundly increasing access to books for readers of all ages and backgrounds.  The idea is “Take a book, share a book,” but even if you don’t have a book to share, please feel free to take books home to enjoy!  One of the most successful ways to improve the reading achievement of children is to increase their access to books, especially at home.

The weekly Kingdom Kids program reaches out each month to the community with service projects to share their love with others as “doers of the Word.”  When the kids are working in the community, they are often asked why they give up their afternoons to help others, and their answer is always…”because we love Jesus and He loves you!”  Kingdom Kids have given back to their communities in Bell Ringing for the Salvation Army, Making Blessing Bags for Madeline’s House and Charlotte County Assistance Programs, yard work for elderly, Habitat for Humanity home beautification, car wash proceeds donated to mission projects, Roadside Trash Clean Up, and a witness walk “Share the love of Jesus” project with gifts of flower seed packets, flashlights, and bubbles, all with inspirational messages to patrons of local businesses and friends throughout the town.  The Kingdom Kids program for Kindergarten-Middle School consists of a weekly Bible Study/Story, and one week each month on Missions, Music, Crafts, and Community Projects.  Pictured are the Little Free Library Boxes in each of the towns.