American Legion Children And Youth Month
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April is the American Legion Children & Youth Month. This is done to showcase what the thousands of posts across the country do to benefit and support the youngest citizens in their communities. Middlebury American Legion Post 27 supports and contributes to many such programs throughout the year. The most recent of which is their continued support for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library Program which is evident by their recently presenting a $2,000 check to the Board of Directors of the Addison County Readers, Inc. which manages and promotes the program.
The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is a unique early years book gifting program that mails a brand new, age-appropriate book to enrolled children every month from birth until five years of age, creating a home library of up to 60 books and instilling a love of books and reading from an early age.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library was introduced to Addison County by David Clark, the then Ilsley Public Library Director in 2007 and was originally open only to residents of Middlebury. Post 27 was the principal funding source right at the beginning and has continued each year to support this important program. After the first year, volunteers quickly came forward to form a non-profit group, Addison County Readers, Inc., whose goal was to expand the program to include all preschoolers in the county. The first countywide mailing was completed in January 2008. The Imagination Library has been an overwhelming success in its first years of operation sending out over 55,000 books to preschoolers throughout the County and continues to do so. For more information about the program, or to enroll your child, go to www.addisoncountyreaders.org.