County UW partners with community for Imagination Book Club – News – The McDonough

McDONOUGH COUNTY — For several years, the McDonough County United Way has administered the Weekend Summer Lunch and Learning program- providing 2 meals and a book to enrolled children throughout the summer. Groups of volunteers met on Friday mornings at HyVee to pack the lunches- and United Way staff delivered all over Macomb that afternoon. In addition to the sandwiches, fruit, and other food, children would get one age appropriate book each week.

This year, the Coronavirus Pandemic forced United Way staff to re-evaluate the logistics of the program. First of all, the need was greater than two packed lunches would cover. Entire families were sheltering at home, many day cares were closed, and having large groups of volunteers together in one room to pack lunches was not an option.

The United Way decided to focus on literacy and work with other community organizations who are already doing food support. This led to the creation of the Imagination Book Club. Families in need of more books in the home are encouraged to sign up. The first Thursday of June, July, and August, a packet with 4-7 books, a special gift, a treat, and ideas for family fun would show up on children’s doorsteps.

Jill Beck, Executive Director of the McDonough County United Way, reached out to Genesis Garden to see if a logistical partnership could be forged. Genesis Garden does a weekly grocery delivery each Thursday and agreed to assist with book delivery to any families that signed up for both the Imagination Book Club and grocery delivery that week. Further, Genesis Garden enrolled all of their Kids Cook members in the Imagination Book Club.

In the first month, the program has seen a 150% growth from 2019 and over 1,000 books were delivered to approximately 200 families in McDonough County. The United Way is able to meet this demand, thanks to gifts from Pella, The Tracy Family Foundation, Macomb Centennial Morning Rotary Club, and Altrusa International of Macomb. Beck is able to maximize those donor’s gifts by buying books in bulk, “We are so grateful for the generous support from Pella, The Tracy Family Foundation, Morning Rotary, and Altrusa. The books we purchase are so affordable, anywhere from $.35 to $1.00, so we are able to purchase enough inventory for each child to receive multiple books each month. It is such an honor to be able to share these with those in our community who need a little boost to their home libraries for the kids. We want kids reading throughout the summer.”

Macomb HyVee generously donates snacks for every child and Genesis Garden assists with deliveries to families who are signed up for both United Way’s Imagination Book Club and Genesis Garden’s weekly grocery delivery or the Kids Cook program. United Way delivers to the rest.

The remaining Imagination Book Club deliveries will be July 2 and August 6. If your family is in need, you can sign up via the McDonough County United Way facebook page, on a simple google form,…