A love of community and education became the leading combination for winning the recent Shelter Insurance® “Thankful for Our Communities” essay contest. Helen Dennis won $5,000 for the Imagination Library of Bedford County with her essay “Famous in Our Community,” which told several true stories of kindness from Shelbyville residents. Shelter Insurance presented the check to the Imagination Library at the RC Cola Moon Pie Festival in Bell Buckle, TN on June 18. Click here to see pictures from the event.
Helen’s essay features the story of Doc Key, whose patience and kindness helped him teach a once sickly horse named Jim to do amazing things. She tells the story of Jim Tune, a theater owner who refused to sell popcorn because a widow, Julia Delk, was supporting herself and her young children with her popcorn stand just around the corner. “These individuals are the embodiment of our community,” said Dennis. “The world around us changes and so do the people, but our dedication and love of our community lives on throughout the generations.”
Dennis chose the Imagination Library of Bedford County to receive the donation from Shelter because she believes in the importance of education. Shelter’s donation will help provide free, quality and age-appropriate books to children in Bedford County for more than two months!
“We hold this contest annually as a fun way to highlight the many positive aspects of the communities we serve and the people who live there,” said Frank Thompson, Vice President of Marketing for Shelter. “It also helps us learn what’s important to the citizens of these communities and help support those causes. We know it’s important to instill a love of reading at an early age, and we’re glad our donation to the Imagination Library will provide books for children in Bedford County to help with that.”
Thank you to Helen Dennis for her wonderful essay and for choosing the Bedford County Imagination Library to receive this donation. We also give a very special thanks to Shelter Insurance® for supporting local communities and the Imagination Library!
Click here to read about the check presentation at the Moon Pie Festival in the Shelbyville Times Gazette.