The Imagination Library Program has been touching the lives of young children in Franklin County for more than six years.
Through Imagination Library, any Franklin County child from birth to age 5 can register and receive a free hardback book of their very own in the mail each month. Without this service, many children might not have access to their very own books which is important to early literacy.
The Imagination Library Program recently benefitted from a $2,500 grant given to them by the Northwest Alabama Resource Conservation and Development Council (RC&D) Council. The funds were used to purchase books for the program and also to pay for postage fees associated with mailing the books.
Carla Hutto, Imagination Library Coordinator, said “Studies have shown that participating children are much better prepared to enter school at age 5 and to become good life-long readers, which is crucial to all aspects of their education.”
Roger Hayes, Chairman of the Northwest Alabama RC&D Council, said that RC&D realizes the importance of early literacy programs such as Imagination Library to the overall career of a student.
“Programs like Imagination Library can give children a head start on reading and can be very important when it’s time for them to enroll in school. In the world we live in where scholarships are jobs are becoming more and more competitive, any educational edge we can give to our young people will pay off in time,” Hayes said.