Columbus, OH -- As part of their continued efforts to inspire children to discover a love of reading, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and First Lady Fran DeWine on Oct 28th, held a pair of book readings at local Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program clinics in Hamilton and Lisbon.

These WIC clinics are among several across the state that are receiving new “reading spaces” for children. Developed by the Ohio Department of Health and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio, the reading spaces are cozy, colorful areas stocked with books for kids to enjoy as their families spend time at the clinic.

“Books open up a world of possibilities for our children,” said Governor DeWine. “By connecting more Ohio children and families with our Imagination Library program, these WIC reading spaces will advance our work to help more kids unlock their imaginations, discover a love for reading, and will set them on the best path toward success as they enter Kindergarten and throughout life.”

Designed in the form of a tree, flower, or seed in the various WIC locations, the reading spaces take visual inspiration from the Imagination Library book The Very Hungry Caterpillar – the same book First Lady DeWine read to the young children in attendance for today’s events, which were held at the Butler County WIC Office in Hamilton and the Portage/Columbiana County WIC Office in Lisbon.

“We really enjoyed reading to the kids today, and we’re hopeful that these designated reading spaces will become quite popular with visitors,” said Ohio First Lady Fran DeWine. “We believe our partnership with the Ohio Department of Health and WIC will encourage more Ohio families to sign up their child for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Ohio's monthly book delivery.”

Event B-Roll & First Lady Soundbites

Over the coming weeks, WIC reading spaces will be installed in the following locations:

Athens/Perry County WIC, 2541 Panther Dr. NE in New Lexington
Butler County WIC, 210 S. 2nd in Hamilton
Crawford County WIC, 1520 Isaac Beal Rd. in Bucyrus
Coshocton County WIC, 637 Chestnut St. in Coshocton
Cuyahoga County WIC, 6835 Broadway Ave. in Cleveland
Erie/Huron County WIC, 34 Executive Dr., Suite A in Norwalk
Guernsey County WIC, 326 Highland Ave. in Cambridge
Highland County WIC, 1487 N. High St., Business Suite 500 in Hillsboro
Hocking County WIC, 350 Ohio-664 in North Logan
Portage/Columbiana County WIC, 7876 Lincole Place in Lisbon

The 10 WIC clinics chosen to participate in the reading spaces project were selected based on regional early childhood literacy data, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio participation rates, kindergarten readiness scores, and access to nearby library resources. These locations serve more than 33,000 families each month, many of whom stand to benefit by signing up for the Imagination Library program.

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Ohio mails children one high-quality, age-appropriate book each month until his or her 5th birthday, at no cost to their family. Over 410,000 Ohio children are currently participating in the program. That’s 62% of state's eligible children.

Learn more: www.Ohioimaginationlibrary.org

Each of the newly installed reading spaces will feature a QR code that families can scan to enroll their children in the Imagination Library program with just a few taps of their phone.

Research has shown early literacy is predictive of academic success, school completion, and college and career readiness. The reading spaces are being installed in Ohio WIC clinics as part of the efforts of the Governor, First Lady, and other state leaders to make books more accessible than ever to young children.

“We are excited to be able to collaborate on this project to benefit Ohio infants and young children across the state,” ODH Director Bruce Vanderhoff, MD, MBA, said. “We are confident these efforts to expand early access to books are key to improving literacy.”

While only select locations will be adding the new reading spaces, all Ohio WIC clinics can assist families in enrolling their children in the Imagination Library program. ODH’s WIC program serves more than 135,000 infants and children up to age 5 each month statewide.