News & Stories
Building Bright Futures, One Book at a Time
Photo credit: Dolly Parton Imagination Library Grand Traverse Region
Image description: A mother sits in a cozy chair, reading a children’s book to her baby, who gazes up at her. The baby is dressed in a pink onesie with a playful pattern.
Less than half of the young children in our region do not start Kindergarten ready to learn, which can impact academic performance and behavioral outcomes later in life. To address this issue, the Books from Birth initiative was born.
As a collaborative project between Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, Traverse Bay Sunrise Rotary’s Born to Read program, Munson Medical Center, and the Traverse Area District Library, Books from Birth aims to ensure that every child born at Munson receives literary resources through the local Imagination Library.
“The average number of babies born a year in the Grand Traverse region is about 1,500, and we expect that number to grow,” shared Bob Robbins, Books from Birth Campaign Chairperson. “So the need for books is continuous. We have to raise about $225,000 each year to ensure we can fund every child born in our region for five years.”
To support this ambitious effort, in 2023, Books from Birth received one of our Community Funds grants to help purchase books to supply the local Imagination Library, which provides families in our region with one new book each month until their child’s fifth birthday. Parents of all newborns born at Munson also receive a Welcome Baby gift with books, literacy tips, and community resources. They are invited to enroll their newborn in the Imagination Library before leaving the hospital. Our Community Funds grant not only helped Books from Birth meet its initial goals, but also aided the initiative in meeting the growing needs of the region.
“Our resource needs are already shifting,” said Betsy Moore, Coordinator for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library GTR. “We are expanding to meet the needs of the parents and families we’ve connected with through partnerships we’re building with local pediatric clinics. The responsive and flexible funding from the Community Foundation has allowed Books from Birth to adapt as needed to unforeseen developments.”
The Community Funds grant also made it possible for Books from Birth to expand its coverage area to include Antrim County, allowing the nonprofit to buy and mail monthly Imagination Library books to eligible children across the entire five-county region.
“We are grateful to the Community Foundation,” said Betsy. “Our goal is to increase school readiness through a comprehensive system that encourages new parents to read to their babies and young children—this grant is a wonderful gift to our community."
Writer: Alex Dailey