FREE Books For Kids Will Soon Be Available In Olmsted County

Storytime with my kids was one of those treasured moments.  I wish I could shrink my kiddos for a day and have them sit next to me with their favorite book and just explore the words on the page with them.  We have a lot of books in their personal libraries but that was only possible because of a program that provided free books to my kids.  I am happy to say, something similar is back in Olmsted County for preschoolers!

According to a recent press release from the Rochester Public Library, a grant from the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) was received, which will help put 1,300 books into the homes of over 650 children throughout Olmsted County.  Kids that are five years old or younger will have an opportunity to add these books to their own personal library at home.

“By building up home libraries and providing tips to parents and caregivers for using the books, we can expect to see increased early literacy skills in the preschoolers,” says Heather Acerro, Head of Youth Services at RPL.

The 1,300 books will be distributed to preschoolers throughout the county this fall through School Readiness, Head Start, and the Rochester Public Library.

Contact Heather Acerro at hacerro@rplmn.org for more information about this grant.

Do you know of other programs that help families in Southeast Minnesota? I’d love to hear about them. Send me a message on my Facebook page (click here) or DM me on Instagram.