Sullivan County Imagination Library announces its birthing hospital partnership with Indian Path Medical Center to begin enrolling newborn babies into Tennessee’s Imagination Library program. Through this partnership, each family of a newborn child will be given the opportunity to enroll in Tennessee’s Imagination Library and begin to receive one book per month in the mail at no cost to the family. At the hospital, each child who is enrolled in the program will also receive the first Imagination Library book, The Little Engine That Could, to take home as an example of the wonderful gift of books to come in the mail.
Since Sullivan County Imagination Library began in 2004, more than 679,000 books have been delivered to children in the community. Currently, 77.4% of all children under age five living in Sullivan County are enrolled in the Sullivan County Imagination Library and receive books each month. Each month the Sullivan County Imagination Library delivers more than 6,300 books to children.
“Not only is literacy essential for a child’s fundamental education and future, it also has significant impacts on physical health and well-being,” Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation President (GBBF) Theresa Carl said. “Our goal is to have partnerships with birthing hospitals like Indian Path all across the state of Tennessee, so that every child has the chance to grow with a healthy body and a healthy mind. Thank you to Indian Path Medical Center for understanding the importance of reading with children from the moment they enter this world!”
The Imagination Library program is made available to all Tennessee children, from birth to age five, through a unique, three-way partnership between GBBF, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, and a local affiliate program in each of Tennessee’s 95 counties. GBBF launched the birthing hospital initiative in 2014 to introduce Tennessee’s Imagination Library program to parents and families of newborns and emphasize the joys and benefits of reading with children beginning at birth.
