COLUMBUS - Introducing your child to the joys of reading is a fun way to spend time with him or her. It's also a smart way to prepare the child for a lifetime of learning.
The Columbus Area United Way will kick off a new program during Columbus Days that is expected to be a gift that "speaks volumes for the community's future."
After parents sign up for Imagination Library, their child or children will receive a free hardback book in the mail each month until their fifth birthday. To be eligible, children must be between the ages of 0 and 5 and their parents or guardians must either live or work in Columbus. Children of Excel employees in Schuyler will also be eligible.
"Not every child has a stack of books," Pat Heimes said. "This is an opportunity for any child to have their own stack of books."
There are no income limitations with the program.
Children across the country are already taking part in Imagination Library, which is administered by Dolly Parton's Dollywood Foundation.
Heimes, who is the local United Way director, said Columbus is the first United Way in Nebraska to take part in the program. She estimates about 500 area children will be receiving books through Imagination Library each year.
The Columbus Area United Way, whose board of directors is committed to this program, approved paying $27 each year for each child who receives the books.
First-year funding will come primarily from the Kids Count Grant dollars, which is about 50 percent of the money collected over and above the local United Way campaign goal - $19,750 in 2003.
During this year's United Way campaign, volunteers will ask donors to consider a 50 cent a week increase in their annual pledge for the program. This amounts to $26 a year more than last year and will allow a child to receive a book a month in the mail, according to Heimes.
During Columbus Days, from 9-11 a.m. Aug. 14, there will be a big red wagon parked in the city parking lot across the street from the Columbus Public Library. Local "celebrity" adults will be reading to children, and parents can sign up for Imagination Library at that time.
It takes about eight to 10 weeks before the books start coming. If a child is signed up at birth - which they can be through newborn packets distributed at Columbus Community Hospital - the first book sent out is "The Little Engine That Could." The last book sent out is "Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come."
Books are age appropriate, so that if there are more than one child under age 5 in a family, they will each receive a different book.
Heimes said prior to committing to the reading program she talked to several United Way directors in South Dakota and was told they have been pleased with the Imagination Library program.
"Learning to read is a process much like learning to speak or learning to walk," according to The Dollywood Foundation. "The process begins at birth. Children associate sounds with emotions. They must learn how a book works - you read from left to right, and you turn pages. They associate pictures with words. These are all steps along the way to learning to read."
Each book is selected by a Dollywood Foundation committee composed of parents, teachers, child development specialists, librarians, publishers and others specializing in early childhood literacy. Special attention is given to age-appropriateness and the development of such positive themes as promotion of self-esteem and confidence, regard for diversity and appreciation of art.
For more information about Imagination Library, visit www.imaginationlibrary.com or call Heimes at 564-5661.
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