Danielle Elzayat (left), co-founder of the Amity Foundation, and Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud announce that a partnership with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library will provide free monthly books to all Dearborn children from birth to age 5. The book gifting program is made possible through a $2.8 million endowment Hammoud secured during his time in the Legislature, and will be administered by the Amity Foundation.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN – Because of a $2.8 million endowment that Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud secured while a state representative, all children in Dearborn can receive free monthly books from birth to age 5.
The city’s partnership with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library allows parents of each eligible child to order a free book each month, which is delivered to them by mail. It will be administered locally by the Amity Foundation, a humanitarian organization whose mission is public service and education.
During an announcement Sept. 20 at Henry Ford Centennial Library, Hammoud said the exciting announcement was four years in the making.
“While I was a state representative in Lansing, I knew we had a small window of opportunity to make a generational difference,” he said. “While we brought home many wins within three terms, I felt strongly that we need to deliver on something that would outlast not only my tenure, but also my lifetime.”
Hammoud said that by a child’s fifth birthday, they could have up to 60 books for their own home library, at no cost to their family and, because of the endowment, at no expense to Dearborn residents.
“Sixty unique opportunities for language-rich interactions that build empathy, that strengthen family bonds and that catapult children to early success in kindergarten and beyond,” he said. “These books are fuel for that burning curiosity, fuel for imaginations that lead to better grades, higher lifetime earnings and healthier, more meaningful lives.”
Hammoud said he hopes the books will fuel the city’s future generation of leaders.
“Who knows? Maybe one of our future mayors is a 4-year-old who reads ‘The Three Little Pigs’ and thinks to herself that the big, bad wolf would be an amazing code enforcement officer,” he said amid laughter. “Either that, or one of my city council people.”
Hammoud said the important thing is to stir children’s imagination through reading.
“This program is also a critical policy intervention for a critical time,” he said. “We continue to see alarming increases in Michigan’s third-graders who are reading below grade level, and even more troubling is watching these early gaps manifest into wider disparities later in life.”
Hammoud said it will take more than free books to turn the tide, but the power of literacy as an equalizer should never be underestimated.
He said the benefits of parents reading to children are beneficial as well, whether English is someone’s primary or secondary language.
Hammoud said that in the era of remote work, in which cities are competing for residents, Dearborn must demonstrate the value of being a resident.
“Here in Dearborn let it be known that we invest in our children from the day that they are born, and try to give them the most enjoyable childhood possible,” he said.
Danielle Elzayat, co-founder of the Amity Foundation, said they are thrilled to serve as a local champion for the Imagination Library as part of the foundation’s mission to uplift and inspire youth within the greater Dearborn community.
“We are certain that this initiative will transform lives,” she said. “That is why we worked tirelessly alongside Mayor Hammoud and the Dollywood Foundation to bring this partnership to fruition.”
Elzayat said she hopes everyone who has an eligible child will participate by going to the website imaginationlibrary.com and entering one’s Dearborn ZIP code. After answering basic eligibility questions, parents may order one free book per month for each qualified child.
“As a program partner, we couldn’t be more excited to play a role in your child’s joy and development,” she said. “We are beyond eager to get these books to your home.”
City officials and other invested parties gather following the Sept. 20 announcement at Henry Ford Centennial Library that a partnership with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library will provide free monthly books to all Dearborn children from birth to age 5. The book gifting program is made possible through a $2.8 million endowment Hammoud secured during his time in the Legislature, and will be administered by the Amity Foundation, a humanitarian organization whose mission is public service and education.
Dearborn Librarian and Youth Services Supervisor Susan Jelic said it is every librarian’s mission to “clutter homes with books.”
“Books in the toy box, in the diaper bag, books next to the high chair and in the back seat of the car,” she said. “Thanks to the efforts of Mayor Hammoud, the city of Dearborn, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and the Amity Foundation, every young child in Dearborn will now have the opportunity to add to their ‘clutter’ by receiving quality books, delivered to their home for free.”
Jelic said she foresees favorite books being reread until they are memorized and tucked under a pillow.
“It is vital to provide opportunities to the youth of our community to read, write, sing, talk and play their way to literacy,” she said. “These are the five practices of the American Library Association’s ‘Every Child Ready to Read’ program.”
Jelic said the initiative helps provide opportunities for children to practice critical early literacy skills, like exposure to new vocabulary, develop awareness of the sound structure of words, letter knowledge, print awareness, narrative skills and print motivation, also known as a love of reading.
Dolly Parton created the Imagination Library as a tribute to her late father, whom she said was smart despite being illiterate, which probably prevented him from seeing all of his dreams come true.
Hammoud said books are also available in Braille for the visually impaired.