Sometimes a little goes a long way.
Maybe it’s a cliché, but we’ve proven it again, this time with a community partnership between National Life and our independent producer GLP & Associates in Michigan.
GLP discovered that the Detroit Public Community Schools and a charitable foundation supporting the district had set a goal of establishing a Little Free Library in front of each of the 97 schools in the district.
This week, National Life and GLP put the district over the top by offering support for the creation of 40 of them.
OK, so we did what? We helped to create these amazing tiny libraries that are contained in small structures that are placed in front of a school.
The idea is that for kids in a lot of urban neighborhoods, especially ones such as Detroit that can have very high rates of poverty, there are simply no books available to read if the school isn’t open.
But now, outside every school in Detroit, that will no longer be the case. Beautifully constructed and decorated wooden cases have been or are being installed. If a child or another member of the community wants to get lost in a good story, all they’ll need to do is go grab a book.
And the gratitude in Detroit is sincere.
“To be honest, we are amazed not just that so many dedicated people pulled together and made this happen, but that we didn’t even get close to the 97-day deadline,” the Detroit Little Libraries organization said in its “Wall of Thanks.” “In one fell swoop, National Life came in and sponsored ALL remaining libraries. The news made us tear up! Thank you National Life.”
Jay Dunlap and GLP’s Jimmy Pollack made the presentation of the final libraries at an event in Detroit on Monday.
National Life’s Jay Dunlap also recognizes a LifeChanger of the Year nominee.
GLP’s Jimmy Pollack speaks in a classroom.