May 20, 2011
Last month’s Black and Gold football game has scored another victory as Vanderbilt officials have just been informed of the results from the book drive held in conjunction with the intra-squad game.
Commodore fans were encouraged to donate a children’s book at the entry gates in lieu of purchasing a game ticket. Those books were collected and taken to Books from Birth, a state-wide agency dedicated to increasing literacy and school readiness while strengthening the bonds of families.
“We have counted and it looks as if there are a little over 1,000 books and we are still going through a few more boxes,” said Sheryl Rogers, the agency director. “That is just an amazing total and gift. I think it was a huge success!”
“We want to thank our fans for making this possible,” said Steve Walsh, Vanderbilt’s Director of Sales and Marketing. “We believe this is a very good fit, the type of thing we want to be doing to benefit our community and it was gratifying to see Commodore fans respond so generously.”
Books from Birth Middle Tennessee mails a free book a month to registered children in Davidson, Williamson and Sumner Counties until the child’s fifth birthday.
The organization began in 2002 in a partnership between Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen and Dolly Parton, who had developed the Imagination Library in Sevier County, Tennessee. In 2004 the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt gave the Davidson County Imagination Library a home.