Friends of Imagination Library Bay and Arenac counties
Registering for the Friends of Imagination Library – Bay and Arenac Counties program allows children to receive one brand new free book in the mail each month.
From birth to their fifth birthday, all children in Arenac and Bay counties are entitled to receive a monthly, age-appropriate hardcover book mailed to their homes.
Imagination Library was founded in 2005 and became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2022. It has benefited numerous children in our community. With a mission to deliver high-quality books to children aged birth to five, the organization has distributed approximately one million books since its beginning.
Every month, over 442 children in Arenac County and 2,575 children in Bay County get age-appropriate books chosen by the Blue Ribbon Book Selection Committee, free of charge, through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library via the US Mail.
“There is a misconception that Dolly Parton pays for every book mailed to children, and while her Foundation has laid the groundwork for this program, local Imagination Library chapters need support to ensure this $70,000 a year program continues,” stated Niki Napolitano, of Friends of Imagination Library Bay and Arenac Counties.
This service costs almost $6,000 each month, which includes books and postage. The Bay Arenac ISD further amplifies this mission by providing “in-kind” support, including staffing, printing, marketing and coordination of enrollment.
You can support this program by contacting the Bay Area Community Foundation at 989-893-4438 or the Bay Arenac ISD at 989-667-3223.
“Educators have long identified preschool reading and parent involvement as among the most important steps toward a child’s success in school. Simply, reading aloud is one of the most important things parents and care-givers can do,” according to Bay-Arenac ISD at www.baisd.net.
“Bay-Arenac ISD and educators throughout the seven local districts in our communities embrace the concept of preschool reading as integral to student success. Through affiliation with Imagination Library, all of our children in Arenac and Bay counties would receive an age-appropriate, hardcover book, mailed to their homes each month of their lives from birth to their fifth birthday.”
If you have a child between the ages of birth to five and would like to register for the free books, you may register online, or print the brochure available at www.baisd.net, and mail the completed brochure with signature to: Jill Bialek, Administrative Assistant, Bay-Arenac ISD Early Childhood Education, Bay-Arenac ISD, 4228 Two Mile Road, Bay City, MI 48706. For more information, visit imaginationlibrary.com.
