Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently proclaimed March as Reading Month in Michigan, highlighting the state’s commitment to literacy and the Every Child Reads plan announced in her State of the State address. One local effort supporting early literacy is Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Barry County, which mails free, age-appropriate books each month to children from birth to age five.
Since launching in Barry County in 2016 through partnerships with local Rotary clubs and community supporters, the initiative has helped place books directly into the hands of young readers across the county. To date, more than 140,000 books have been mailed to thousands of local children, helping build home libraries and foster a lifelong love of reading.
Barry County Telephone Co and General Manager David Stoll (co-founder of the Barry County initiative) are proud supporters of the effort and its mission to strengthen early literacy in our community.