Funding to support early literacy program
The Library Foundation for Sarasota has received a $26,000 grant from the Wenk Family Charitable Foundation to support the Library Foundation’s partnership with the Imagination Library, “an early literacy book-gifting program,” the Library Foundation has announced.
“This grant allows 200 additional children, from birth to age 5, to enroll in the Imagination Library for five years,” a news release explains. “Participating children receive free, age-appropriate books in the mail each month, fostering early literacy skills and a lifelong love for reading,” the release points out. “With this gift, the Library Foundation supports the enrollment of 1,450 local children in the Imagination Library.”
“We’re incredibly grateful to the Wenk Family Foundation for supporting this transformative program,” said Alisa Mitchell, executive director of the Library Foundation, in the release. “By helping families build home libraries for their children, the Imagination Library encourages childhood literacy and family reading and builds a foundation for future success in school,” she added.
Founded by internationally known entertainer Dolly Parton in 1995, the Imagination Library “delivers more than 2 million free books monthly” to children across five countries, the release notes.
“Since its founding in 2011, the nonprofit Library Foundation for Sarasota County has raised more than $8 million in private funds for the benefit of Sarasota County public libraries,” the release says. To learn more about the Library Foundation for Sarasota County and how a person can support its mission, visit SarasotaLibraryFoundation.org or call 941-404-3139.