Free Books for Children
By partnering with local health care providers schools, and civic organizations we will strive to reach every family with young children in Wayne County.
Why This Is Important
Study after study showed that children who are read to from birth are more prepared to learn than their peers who are not read to. Since reading with children seemed to be the answer, Vic and Rick set about designing a program that encouraged parents to read, put books into homes and provided tips for effective reading.
Since then, K-Ready has distributed thousands of books to children in Wayne County.
Program Goals
- To increase the number of children in Wayne County, Indiana who are prepared to learn when they start school.
- To encourage parents to read with their children everyday from the day they are born.
- To insure that children have books in their homes.
How it Works
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
In 2013, thanks to the Wayne County Foundation’s Challenge Match Grant, K-Ready received funding to enroll 600 children in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. These 600 children received 12 books, one each month, for a year. As of July 30, 2020, there are over 1800 children receiving this wonderful gift each month, and we are averaging over 100 new children each month! Almost 40% of the children ages 0-5 in Wayne County are now receiving Imagination Library books each month! The Imagination Library’s research shows that children enrolled in this program are significantly better prepared to learn when they start school than their peers who are not enrolled. K-Ready is currently enrolling all children who are born at Reid Health in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
Click the DONATE button at the top of the page to sponsor a child to receive books for $25/year!
Books At Birth
Every mother that gives birth at Reid Health is given a book for her newborn called Read to Your Bunny. The child is also registered with Every Child Can Read, and will receive reading tips and news periodically.
RX for Reading
Through our healthcare partners, we distribute a FREE book at each well visit for the first year of a child’s life (8 visits). At each visit, the healthcare professional will deliver a book and a ReadScription (a paper recommending for a dose of reading as a critical activity to enrich the lives of their children). This is another opportunity for parents/caregivers to register with Every Child Can Read.
Little Free Library
Our goal is to inspire a love of reading and build community by fostering neighborhood book exchanges. For a start up fee of $100, a group, organization or individual can sponsor a Little Free Library in their neighborhood.
Background
When Vic Jose and Rick Ahaus learned that more than 40 percent of children in Wayne County were NOT prepared to learn when they started school, they tackled that issue with the same intensity they put into making sure that third graders were reading at or above grade level before they started fourth grade.
Study after study showed that children who are read to from birth are more prepared to learn than their peers who are not read to. Since reading with children seemed to be the answer, Vic and Rick set about designing a program that encouraged parents to read, put books into homes and provided tips for effective reading.
Since then, K-Ready has distributed thousands of books to children in Wayne County.
Vision Statement
K-Ready encourages parents and caregivers to read with their children 20 minutes every day from the day they are born. We provide children age four and younger with FREE age appropriate books and adults with tips for reading effectively with their children.
By partnering with local health care providers, schools, and civic organizations we will strive to reach every family with young children in Wayne County.
Since then, K-Ready has distributed thousands of books to children in Wayne County.