CLEVELAND — Every summer, the Scripps Howard Foundation and our News 5 family come together to donate money and buy books for children in need here in Cleveland.
This year, we’re also asking our viewers to join us in supporting our “Give A Child A Book” campaign.
The foundation will match every dollar donated, up to $5,000.
The words we learn as children shape so much of the rest of our lives.
“We know talking to your child from the moment they’re born is good for their brain,” said Bob Paponetti, president and CEO of The Literacy Cooperative.
The Literacy Cooperative is a nonprofit in Northeast Ohio that connects organizations and people to improve literacy right where we live. Full disclosure, Homa Bash is a board member of the organization.
“Words build babies brain and they have to get that from a human being,” Paponetti said. “They can’t get that from a computer, a video or an iPhone — it’s gotta be a parent talking to their baby.”
That’s where the Dolly Parton Imagination Library comes in.
Parents with kids under the age of five can sign up and receive a free book every single month to build up their family library.
Let me emphasize that again — it’s totally free, no strings attached.
So if you sign up your child at birth, that’s 60 books by the time they’re age five.
Meet Sadie Pinckney, a mom of four little ones — ages 4, 5, 7, and 7 months.
Their family been a part of the Imagination Library for four years now —and Sadie says the benefits are clear.
“I’ve seen a lot in their communication and verbalization, how they’re able to talk clearly and use different words,” Pinckney said.
Reading becomes a family activity.
Books, the building blocks for growing brains.
Education, opening doors.
“I want them to evolve into the best person they could possibly be and this is where it starts. Literacy, learning, education, and books,” Pinckney said. “To me… whew... it’s almost next to having air.”
To sign up for the Imagination Library, click here.
