Jeff Davis County Premieres “Get Georgia Reading”—at the Movies


When Jeff Davis Family Connection Director Denise Darley couldn’t fall asleep one night, she used the quiet time to brainstorm outside-the-box ways to address literacy in her county. That’s when the idea to run a brief Get Georgia Reading Campaign video at the local movie theater popped into her head.

“We have a small theater that was closed for years, and a young couple recently revived it,” said Darley. “Our community has very little in the way of entertainment, so everyone’s been excited to support this couple’s venture.”

Darley contacted the owners of The Theatre of Hazlehurst about running a video during the trailers for “The Lion King” after she saw a post on the theater’s Facebook page about tickets going fast for the summer blockbuster.

“I knew with the theater selling out, this was an extraordinary opportunity to expose a lot of parents to the Get Georgia Reading message,” said Darley. “Our third-grade reading scores are lower than the state average, so we need to find as many ways possible to get the message to parents about the importance of reading to—and with—their children beginning at birth. We need to consistently remind them that our children begin reading to learn in third grade—and this sets the tone for the rest of their lives.”

If you are interested in sharing the Get Georgia Reading Campaign video in your community, please contact us.