Hamilton's efforts put 536 books the hands of local children

  • Cayley Hamilton has provided books to 536 children through Snack in a Backpack as a project that began as “Feed and Read Fannin.” That project has now grown into a non-profit organization with plans to continue supplying books every year.
    Cayley Hamilton has provided books to 536 children through Snack in a Backpack as a project that began as “Feed and Read Fannin.” That project has now grown into a non-profit organization with plans to continue supplying books every year.

    Snack in a Backpack children are receiving free summer reading books for the second year in a row thanks to a Fannin County teacher.

    Cayley Hamilton, who teaches at West Fannin Elementary School, worked with Snack in a Backpack last year to fulfill a requirement for her graduate studies in Education.

    She came up with the idea of “Feed and Read Fannin,” in which a children’s book is placed in each Snack in a Backpack bag.

    Paying attention to reading levels at different grade levels, Hamilton chooses books to include in the bags.

    This year’s books include classics such as “Green Eggs and Ham,”  and “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.”

    Audrey Taylor of Snack in a Backpack said Hamilton has provided 536 books to children “and is eager to provide even more in the future.” She has created a non-profit organization, “Feed and Read Fannin,” to continue the effort annually.

    “Cayley has a great support system, but this is all her project. She’s the boss. Cayley has dreams of what her non-profit will do in the future and strives to be a great help in advancing the literary lives of students in Fannin County schools,” Taylor said.