Book gifting program to send free books to Manchester’s youngest residents

Through the Imagination Library, Manchester children ages 0 – 5 are now able to receive 12 books a year mailed to their home for free.

Books and reading are necessary to the development of the minds of our youngest residents. This fall, multiple Manchester organizations have come together to have free books mailed to the homes of area children, from birth to age 5, starting this week!

Manchester resident Shannon Brown has been working for months to bring Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a book gifting program, to Manchester. The Imagination Library mails free, high-quality books to children from birth until they begin school, once a month, no matter their family’s income. After launching in 1995, the program grew quickly. By 2003, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library had mailed one million books.

Brown began by partnering with the Manchester Ladies Society, a non-profit organization that serves women and children in the Manchester area. For a community to participate, sponsors need to be secured to cover the cost of $25 per child per year (or $2.10 per book). Brown secured “founding sponsors” who include the Manchester District Library, the Manchester Men’s Club, and C. A. Brown Welding and Fabrication.

Thanks to Brown, the program is now open to every child, under 5, living in the zip code 48158. To sign a child up to receive free books in the mail, you can register online at https://imaginationlibrary.com or print out this form: IL_registration_form and mail it to Imagination Library, c.o. Shannon Brown, 16924 W. Austin Rd, Manchester MI 48158.

Brown will be at Pre-school Storytime at the Manchester District Library this Wednesday, November, 13th at 10:30 am to answer questions and sign families up for the program. Everyone with an eligible child is welcome to stop in and sign up!

If you are part of an organization or business that would like to donate money that will go 100% to providing books to Manchester children, please contact the Manchester Ladies Society at manchesterladiessociety@gmail.com.

(Note: Currently Manchester is the only community in Washtenaw offering this program and no communities in Jackson County offer this program. Many communities in Lenawee County, including the Village of Clinton, are offering this program through the Lenawee Community Foundation.)

Inspired by her father’s inability to read and write, Dolly started her Imagination Library in 1995 for the children within her home county. Today, her program spans four countries and mails over 1 million free books each month to children around the world.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.