COLUMBUS - Hundreds of youngsters have been introduced to the world of books through the Imagination Library.
The Columbus Area United Way-sponsored program has reached almost 1,000 children in the area, nearly double the number of what it started at when the program began two years ago.
Kellie Rosenkranz, special events coordinator with the United Way, said a total of 938 kids are enrolled in the program currently, and they continue to take registration forms on a daily basis.
“We get them in the mail everyday. At the end of last month, I had 26 new (registration forms),” Rosenkranz said.
The program offers children the opportunity to receive free, hardback books in the mail each month until their fifth birthday. To be eligible, children have to be between the ages of 0 and 5, and their parents or guardians must either live or work in Columbus.
Rosenkranz said she has had her own 2-1/2- year-old son in the program for the last nine months and she has seen the benefits. He is excited to pick up a book and have it read to him, when before he didn't have much interest in that.
Getting parents and children reading together is the main goal of the program.
“The thing we want to do is get kids to like reading, get them to associate pictures with words,” Rosenkranz said.
Imagination Library started here in 2004. Columbus is the first United Way in the state to take part in the program. It is paid for through the Kid's Count program, which is funded from a portion of the donations that are above the annual United Way campaign total. It costs $27 per child in the program.
The program is administered by Dolly Parton's Dollywood Foundation. Once a child is signed up, it takes about eight to 10 weeks for books to arrive by mail. After that, they will receive another new book every month. All books are age appropriate and are selected by a Dollywood Foundation committee that is made up parents, teachers, child development specialists, librarians, publishers and others specializing in early childhood literacy.
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