Share the Dream Spotlight: Imagination Library

This summer, 25 different charitable organizations, scholarships and endowments are participating in the Putnam County Community Foundation Share the Dream program. The fundraising program offers proportionally awarded grant prizes to participants who receive at least 10 donations of $25 or more between May 1 and Aug. 31. Each of the 25 organizations will be highlighted in this series.

The Imagination Library Endowment is participating in Share the Dream this year. Imagination Library was started locally by The Friends of the Putnam County Public Library in 2011 and is proudly serving children in every township in Putnam County.

The mission of the Friends of the Putnam County Public Library is to promote literacy in all its forms, to facilitate equitable access to information and encourage lifelong learning and a love for reading.

Imagination Library is for any child age birth to age five who is a resident of Putnam County. By signing up, a child receives a free book each month that comes addressed directly to the child by mail. Books selected are age-specific and directed toward what might be happening in a child’s life or development at the time he or she receives the book.

Currently, Imagination Library serves about 1,015 Putnam County children. Census data lists 1,945 children, ages birth to five in Putnam County.

This means that Imagination Library is serving 52.2 percent of the eligible population, or one in two children of eligible age in Putnam County.

Imagination Library of Putnam County has maintained a high rate of enrollment and has met the financial needs of the program each year. Organizers are hopeful that programming in 2018 will help ensure books are used outside the home, making an even greater impact in the lives of children and their families.

The Friends of the Putnam County Library also hopes to grow the Imagination Library Endowment by five to $75,000 dollars during the Share the Dream fundraising period to provide future funding sustainability.

Those who are passionate about children and literacy at a local level, should find Imagination Library a nice match for their charitable giving.