Gov. DeWine recognizes Imagination Library for growth

ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- Belmont County has many young readers. On Tuesday, those who have encouraged a love of reading among children got some congratulations from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and his wife, Fran DeWine.

Fran DeWine has promoted the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and recognized the "incredible growth" of the program in Belmont County.

"The free books in the Imagination Library are going to little learners and avid readers every single day, we've really come a long way," she said, recalling 2019 when the program was only used in small parts of the state. "We set out to make these free books available to every single child from birth to age 5 in every county across Ohio."

In 2020, Belmont County's program began, along with the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, two-and-a-half years later, more than 1,600 children in the county are receiving the monthly books in the mail.

"In such a short amount of time, 47% of this county's eligible children are signed up," Fran DeWine said, adding participation is 45% statewide. "This is incredible growth during such a critical time."

She spoke of the importance of reading at an early age for children with developing brains. She also described the thrill felt by young children on getting a book in the mail addressed to them.

"These books spark innovation, imagination, curiosity and bonding," she said. "Kids only grow up once, they grow up fast and we need to help them grow up with the best shot at success. Reading is one of the single greatest things we can do for our kids and with our kids, and the earlier the better."

Thanks went to Gulfport Energy for a donation of $150,000 in a three-year commitment to the program in 2020. Fran DeWine said the company's donation has helped keep the program free for all families.

Lester Zitkus, senior vice president of land, said investing in the community has been the company's commitment since starting to work in the county 10 years ago.

"We set up a foundation that is geared towards education, health and human services and when we learned about the Imagination Library, it was right in our wheelhouse," he said, adding he has seen participation among the families of Gulfport employees. "We started at zero and we're approaching 50% of the eligible children."

Debbie Stanton, program officer for the Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley, the nonprofit involved in the program, said she was grateful to the donors, volunteers and the community for their work.

"We have a lot of people who care, so when the call was made to certain stakeholders of the county to have this program, I think that everybody showed up for it and we continue to show up for it," Stanton said.

"I think kicking it off during the pandemic is probably in the long run going to show benefits and results. ... Those 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds were at home during the pandemic, they were not in preschool, but they were receiving these books every month," Stanton said.

"It's worth it," she said, recalling the first stakeholder meeting in 2019. "We spoke to Rotary clubs, we went to preschools, daycares, childcare centers, hospitals."

She said volunteers and sponsors are always welcome and needed.

"We would love for volunteers to come join our committee and help us spread the word," she said.

"We're here because we all care about children reading," St. Clairsville Library Director Doug Walsh said, adding thanks to the state's support. "Fran DeWine has done so much for bringing the Imagination Library to the State of Ohio and to Belmont County, and promoting the Imagination Library."

Walsh commended the community.

"There's so many volunteers from different organizations in the county that are helping," Walsh said. "That takes a lot of work in going to different events and promoting the Imagination Library. It requires working with all of the post offices in the county and following up for books that were undeliverable that we don't want to be discarded.

"It involves fundraising, we're always looking for ways to increase the amount of donations to keep the program going," he added. "Right now, the state is providing a 50% match, but you can't be sure that's going to stay there, so we want to be able to continue the program without that support...we have a long way to go."

Afterward he added that though there were complications to starting the program in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it proved a valuable additional resource during lockdowns and closings.

Fran DeWine concluded the visit by reading to visiting children.

To learn more, donate or enroll a child for books, go to ohioimaginationlibrary.org, or go to a local public library. To volunteer, call Stanton at 304-242-3144, the St. Clairsville Public Library at 740-695-2062, and the Belmont County District Library at 740-633-0314. The St. Clairsville library is located at 108 W Main Street. The Belmont County District Library is located at 20 S 5th St, Martins Ferry.