Books from Birth

June 17, 2023

Munson Medical Center is hoping to give every baby born and registered at their hospital from Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Kalkaska, Antrim, and Benzie counties a new book each month for the first five years of their lives. To get age-appropriate books into the hands of kiddos and their parents, Munson has partnered with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Grand Traverse to pilot the program this fall for the first 100 babies born beginning October 1, 2023. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL) is an international book gifting program started by the Queen of Country—who actually prefers “The Book Lady” as her go-to moniker—to help encourage literacy and a lifelong love of reading. The pilot program will cost $15,000—supported by funds from Traverse Bay Sunrise Rotary—but the hospital and DPIL Grand Traverse are hoping to expand the project to reach a goal of $225,000 annually to serve all of the approximately 1,500 local babies born each year. Learn more at dpil-gtregion.org.

Photo from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library