We Believe in Our Children

Three impromptu Imagination Library stories from one week:

·      Geri Bechtold, one of the key staff at Boys & Girls Clubs, works in partnership with United Way on many projects.  She oversees all the KIDSTOP sites so the value of investing in our children is part of her daily work… however, on this day, she told me about her 2-year old nephew.  You could hear the love in her voice when she spoke of him.  When the mail comes into the house, he wants to know if he got his book in the mail. When his monthly Imagination Library book is in the mail, he eagerly repeats “Read to me.  Read to me.” over and over which also means read it several times that same night. 

·      Linda Guggenberger, Bremer Bank employee, sat next to me at a recent community meeting focused on hunger issues.  Before the meeting began, she told me about her newborn 1^st grandchild and how this child’s parents were thrilled when their baby got their first personalized mail – an Imagination Library book. Linda talked about how proud she is of her son in his role as a new father and how committed they are to helping their child learn starting at birth.

·      Alexis Lutgen, one of our United Way staff members, recently gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.  At two weeks old, this baby visited our office and was being held by almost every staff member.  Then we had to get down to business… completing the Imagination Library enrollment form so Vivian could get her first book in the mail.

In 2010, 11,633 local children were impacted by the Imagination Library program. Think of the deepened learning, the positive parent/child quiet fun time together, the number of words spoken and discovering the world through books.  110,916 was the total number of quality children’s books received in the mail by these infants, toddlers and preschoolers … Wow!

If you know of a family with young children, ages birth to their 5^th birthday, who reside in United Way of Central Minnesota’s service area, have them check out our website www.unitedwayhelps.org to enroll or call (320) 252-0227 to find out more.  Many community members and area businesses also donate to this program to help ensure that all children have access to good quality books in their homes.  It is a win-win for all of us!