Golf day to tee off for kids’ books

IMAGINATION Library Bendigo is holding its second Annual Golf Day to raise money so the group can give free children’s books to those in need.

The program helps send free books to children aged zero to four who have limited or no access to books at home.

The event will tee off on Friday, 31 March at Belvoir Park Golf Club, and players are asked to arrive at 8.15am for a barbecue breakfast in time for a 9.30am start.

There will also be a lunch and giveaways.

The local effort is part of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, a global literacy program created by the country music superstar in 1995, who grew up in an illiterate household.

“She tried to get books to the homes of all kids in Tennessee, from birth to when they started school,” said Imagination Library Bendigo chair Andy Coldwell.

“That’s the main philosophy, but we just haven’t got the resources to do that in Bendigo, so we’re trying to get books in the hands of kids with no books or few books.

“In theory a child could be registered at birth, and they could receive one book each month in the post for nearly five years, so really they could get 60 books.”

Mr Coldwell said there are currently 290 children in the area who receive a free, age-appropriate book in the mail each month.

“The program’s growing, we’ve got just under 300 kids on the program at the moment, so we need the golf day to help fund it.”

With the average cost of one book $9, Mr Coldwell said be able to continue at the current rate the group needs more than $31,000 a year from donations and fundraisers.

Last year the Imagination Library Bendigo team raised just short of $12,000.

“We’re hoping to do much the same, perhaps a little bit better,” Mr Coldwell said.

One of their main issues for the group is getting the message out and into the community.

“The challenge for us is getting more kids on the program, and making sure we can fund the program,” he said.

“One of the things we thought with the golf day at least, we can get the message out about what the Dolly Parton Imagination Library is all about in Bendigo, that’s one way we are trying to promote it.”

Imagination Library Bendigo is a non-profit, and Mr Coldwell said all proceeds raised go straight into the buying and sending of new books by United Way Australia, who manage the Dolly Parton Imagination Library throughout the country.

To register for the Bendigo golf day visit trybooking.com/CFSOP or phone 0417 141 597 for more information.