Freedom Readers – Inspiring today's youth one book at a time.

Sharing the joy of reading and so much more.

“Once you learn to read, you are forever free.” Frederick Douglass

Our Mission

To improve reading skills in low-income communities by providing one-to-one literacy tutoring, free books for home libraries, and an inspiring, high-energy learning environment.

Our Vision

The vision of Freedom Readers Inc. is to interrupt the cycle of poverty by providing opportunities for children to develop advanced literacy skills that will improve their academic performance and increase long-term career prospects.

“Children who read well by grade three are more likely to graduate from high school.” Source: Annie E. Casey Foundation

Designed to support parents and caregivers who are concerned about their child’s progress in literacy, this virtual 6-8 week service is offered in addition to the after school and summer literacy program and Advanced Placement Prep program we already offer.

Summer 2025 Session Update

After a great deal of analysis and discussion of the recent development of the COVID-19 Delta variant, the leadership team and Board has decided to pause our K-5th grade After School Program and Advanced Placement Prep Program for middle school students.

Therefore, there will be no weekly meetings of any of our teams for the 2021 fall session. We will continue to monitor the situation and hope to be able to return safely to in-person programming in January 2022.

Although our usual offerings will be on hiatus, we will not be suspending our service to the community. Instead of weekly team meetings, Freedom Readers will continue to offer our virtual service to our current scholars and other interested families.

The Reading Lab offers caregivers the opportunity to have their child’s reading assessed, receive a personalized prescription for improvement and follow up with tutoring from a trained Freedom Readers volunteer.

Summer 2025 Session

June 9th through July 25th

Waterford Pointe

Tuesdays @ 3:30 pm-5:00 pm

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MIO Center (Sponsored by the Horry County Pearls, Inc.)

Wednesdays @ 2:30 pm-4:00 pm

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New Directions

Thursdays @ 5:15 pm-6:45 pm

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See all locations & meeting times

Your involvement makes the difference.

Volunteer adult tutors are trained in the skills needed to work effectively at keeping young scholars interested, motivated, and having fun as they learn.

Volunteer

Now available! Forever Free, a book by Freedom Readers CEO Tracy Swinton Bailey, PhD.

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“[An] inspirational account… Bailey doesn’t hold back in criticizing systemic inequalities in public schools and society at large, but her optimism shines through. Educators, parents, and school administrators will want to take a look.” — Publishers Weekly

Our Instagram

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Huge Freedom Readers announcement! In our second i

Thank you everyone for helping us break $100k this

Today looks good! Palmetto Giving Day is here and

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Take a look inside what’s happening at Freedom Readers.

The Diversity Leaders Initiative celebrates Freedom Readers

A Million Thanks

Coastal Now - Tracy Bailey of Freedom Readers (Alumna Profile)

Freedom Readers On Inside Out August 2017

Events

Aug2
Books & Boogie

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Blog

Announcing Academic Year 25 – 26 Program Dates!

June 6, 2025

We are thrilled to share our 25-26 session dates! Fall 2025: Week of September 15th – Week of November 17th…

Impact Stories

Meet Dorothy, Landon, and Bella!

In 2021, Dorothy Thornal lost her job when the assisted living center where she worked burned down. She began volunteering with Freedom Readers at Piney Grove Baptist Church in Andrews, SC, where she quickly bonded with site leader Geneva Coleman.... Continue reading

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Books We Love, Love, Love.

Let us take the guess work out of book donations. Simply click on any book below and you will be taken to the book on Smile.Amazon.com. Please have the books shipped to our office at 1012 16th Ave. NW Surfside Beach, SC 29575.

Not only will you bring smiles to the faces of deserving children, but Amazon will make a donation to Freedom Readers for every purchase you order through Amazon Smile. Thanks in advance for your support.

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