March, the library was sending out 2,441 books a month at a cost of $5,400. “That’s why we’re asking you to help support this,” said DeSousa.
Wendy Watson and Noel DeSousa, former teachers and now volunteers for the Prescott affiliate of the national non-profit literacy group, gave a presentation March 19 at the Chino Valley Library. The event was co-sponsored by Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce and Women’s Connection Network.
Watson said the Prescott Area Imagination Library covers Western Yavapai County including Chino Valley, Prescott, Prescott Valley, Dewey-Humboldt. She explained that Parton started the Imagination Library in 1995 because her father was illiterate. “Our job is to get the books into the hands of children,” she said.
Families can register their children to receive the books. “For a child to go to the mailbox and get a book, it feels like love,” Watson said. “We equate reading with love.”
Reading helps prepare children for school as it helps build their vocabulary, she added. “That’s why it’s so important,” she said.
Parton’s Imagination Library has given away 252 million books. Seventeen states fund the Parton Imagination Library, but Arizona is among those that do not, so volunteers like Watson and DeSousa fundraise to keep the program going. Watson says $25 donations are enough to fund books for a child for one year.
Prescott Area Imagination Library was started in 2019 by three Prescott Rotary clubs. Currently, it has 10-12 volunteer board members who keep a database, select books, and buy and mail the books to the children. As of March, the library was sending out 2,441 books a month at a cost of $5,400. “That’s why we’re asking you to help support this,” said DeSousa.
Support in the past has come from Rotary Clubs, Arizona Community Foundation, United Way, Read on Arizona/State of Arizona/COVID funds and private donations. QCBN
By Stan Bindell, QCBN
For more information, call 928-717-1516.
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