The Rutherford County Imagination Library – Books from Birth plans to host a Storybook Breakfast on Saturday, Feb. 29 at Overall Creek Elementary. The event will feature book character photo opportunities, breakfast from Chick-fil-a and other activities for kids of all ages.

Proceeds from this event will directly benefit Imagination Library recipients in Rutherford County.

"It costs approximately $120 for a child to receive all of the books in the Imagination Library," said Amy Painter, United Way’s Director of Grant Writing. "Half of that amount must be raised locally in our community."

Painter goes on to explain that the Governor’s Foundation provides half of the funding for the program, but the other half must be raised by a sustaining partner in each community. Locally, the United Way of Rutherford and Cannon Counties serves as the sustaining partner.

There are currently more than 15,000 children enrolled in the program from Rutherford and Cannon counties. When you support your local Imagination Library, you are directly helping a young family set a solid foundation for their children both in school and in life. Getting a book in the mail each month keeps the excitement alive and encourages families to read together.

• Reading to a child in an interactive style raises a child’s IQ by 6 points.

• Research shows that children who are read to regularly at home hear twice as many words every year and have 1/3 larger vocabulary by age three than children who are not read to at home.

• Children who have not developed basic literacy skills by the time they enter school are three to four times more likely to drop out in later years.

  

For more information about sponsoring the Storybook Breakfast, contact Kristen Swann at Kristen.Swann@yourlocaluw.org or 615-893-7303. For more information about Books from Birth, visit www.yourlocaluw.org/booksfrombirth