Excitement filled the air in child care centers and elementary classrooms in Anson County recently as Anson County Partnership for Children staff members distributed over 1800 copies of the book, Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss. The Partnership was awarded 4,440 hard cover books by a First Book National Book Bank grant worth $73,163. This grant was made possible through a generous donation to First Book from Random House Publishing Company.

The Anson County Partnership for Children distributed these books to all child care providers, Pre-K, kindergarten, first and second grade classrooms in Anson County. Other books will be distributed to child care centers and classrooms as well as to children attending Partnership events and local festivals in the fall. The children from Mrs. Torrence’s second grade class at Peachland-Polkton Elementary School sent the following message to the Partnership, “Our class was so excited to see the nice, new books you gave us! We all read and discussed the book. It was a wonderful message and a beautiful gift. Thank you so very much for sharing with us. We will enjoy the book for many years.”

The mission of the Anson County Partnership for Children is “helping make Anson County a better place to be a child and to raise a child.” Providing books for children is especially important in Anson County where approximately one in three adults is functionally illiterate. The Partnership is grateful to First Book for their very generous donation of books for the enjoyment and learning of children in Anson County.

The Partnership’s signature literacy initiative, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, currently has 940 registered children between the ages of birth and 5 years who receive a free book in the mail each month.

Parents of children in this age group in Anson County who are not currently receiving these free books should call Shana Peale at 704-694-4036 to register for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.