The Storytellers literacy initiative is proud to announce that it’s been selected for a 2026 Georgia Reads Community Award by the Georgia Council on Literacy. Storytellers is a unique partnership between the Creature Comforts Get Comfortable initiative, Books for Keeps, the University of Georgia, and the Clarke County School District.
This Georgia Council on Literacy recognition highlights the power of community partnerships in creating significant improvements in literacy across Georgia and includes a $20,000 grant. University of Georgia football great and author Malcolm Mitchell will present the group with a check on May 13.
“Our Get Comfortable program exists to channel the generosity of many toward consensus community priorities,” said Adam Beauchamp, Co-Founder and CEO of Creature Comforts. “Watching the Athens business community rally around the importance of early literacy, generally, and the Storytellers program, specifically, is exciting. This state recognition is evidence that it’s making meaningful progress. Our hope is that both the efficacy and innovation of this cross-sector approach could serve as a model for other communities to replicate.”
After a multi-stage selection process, Get Comfortable identified Books For Keeps—an Athens-based agency committed to literacy for all—to pilot a new literacy mentorship program in partnership with the Clarke County School District (CCSD). Every fall since 2022, community volunteers have been recruited and trained by Books For Keeps, then paired with CCSD-identified first- and second-graders for the duration of the academic year. Mentors visit school sites weekly to conduct one-on-one activities that support the key components of literacy development.
“The Storytellers program has been a vital building block in CCSD’s work to build a culture of literacy that expands beyond our classrooms and into our community as a result of strong partnerships,” said Dr. Jennifer Scott, Interim Superintendent of Clarke County Schools. “We are deeply invested in the work being done through Storytellers and are thrilled that this important work, along with our amazing partners, is being recognized beyond Athens-Clarke County as a model of what can be accomplished when we work together.”
After three years, the mentored students have demonstrated a drastic and sustained increase in their literacy performance. A third-party longitudinal analysis—implemented by representatives from UGA and CCSD—shows the average treatment effect for on-grade-level reading performance to be +295% when comparing Storytellers students to their non-mentored counterparts.
“This recognition from Georgia Reads affirms what we see every day: that when a community comes together around literacy, real change happens,” said Books For Keeps Executive Director, Dr. Ruthi Hortsch. “It’s because of partners such as Get Comfortable that we are able to expand our efforts and impact more children.”
The Get Comfortable initiative has now been recognized both regionally and nationally for its innovative approach to corporate philanthropy, bringing to life Creature Comforts’ mission to be a force for good in the world—an aspiration that can only be achieved through collaborative partnerships like Storytellers.
