Every Child Ready to Learn, Ready to Thrive.

Ready, Set, GROW! / Preparados, Listos, ¡CREZCAN! is a FREE parenting course offered by Success By 6. It gives parents, future parents and caregivers the chance to learn about the key areas of child development from knowledgeable speakers and local agencies.

What You'll Learn

• Child growth and development
• Social and emotional development
• Child health, wellness and safety
• School readiness
• Child abuse prevention

Who Qualifies

• Soon-to-be parents
• Parents of children ages 0–5
• Caregivers of children ages 0–5

Also Included at No Cost

• Health screenings
• Dental kits and first aid kits
• FREE breakfast, lunch and childcare
• Up to $175 in gift cards, plus books and other incentive items
• A wealth of information from knowledgeable speakers and local agencies

Jumpstart's Read for the Record is the largest shared reading experience in the world, celebrating children's early language and social-emotional development. Each year, Read for the Record brings together millions of adults and children who read the same book on the same day, building a reading community that spans ages and cultures.

In 2025, almost 25,000 readers came together across our nine counties. Thank you to everyone who helped us spread the joy of reading throughout West Alabama by reading at local schools and daycares.

Thank you so much to Darla Price, founder of Beyond Education Academy, for serving as our special guest reader this year — and to her co-founder, Cynthia Verna, and her precious students who joined her in the video. Many thanks to Henry Busby (henrybusby.com) for providing his time and talents to create the video.

Success By 6 of United Way of West Alabama is proud to provide Dolly Parton's Imagination Library books FREE to children from birth to five years of age living in Bibb, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Marengo, Pickens, Sumter and Tuscaloosa counties.

Once a month, your child receives a brand-new book in the mail. You only need to do two things: register your child and pledge to read the books to him or her. Please, climb on board Dolly Parton's Imagination Library!

Research has shown that having books in the home is key to future reading success. Did you know that children living in poverty have few, if any, age-appropriate books? Or that having just 20 books can close the educational gap between children of poverty and their peers? Alabama's literacy rate is still lower than the national average, but it is steadily improving — and programs like the Imagination Library help bridge that gap even more.

Do you have a 4- or 5-year-old who is getting ready to start kindergarten next year? If so, this free calendar is for you.

The calendar contains STEM, art and literacy activities that are free or low cost to do with your child throughout the year, and its contents are aligned with the Alabama Standards for Early Learning and Development. This August–July calendar focuses on what children need to know during the year prior to kindergarten — when the child finishes the calendar activities, it is time to start school!

• More than 200,000 copies distributed over the past 20+ years
• Free for all 4- and 5-year-old children in our nine-county service area
• Published in Spanish since 2023
• Each year features photos of West Alabama children who attended our JumpStart Kindergarten Program
• Success By 6 also contracts with organizations statewide to supply the calendar to other areas of Alabama at publishing cost

Requesting one copy for your own child? Use the button below. Schools, daycares and organizations ordering in bulk should use the order form further down.