WTAP, Grand Central Mall to hold Imagination Library telethon Sunday

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) - WTAP is partnering with the Grand Central Mall to raise money for the Imagination Library during a live telethon Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. at the mall during its grand reopening.

Wood County adopted the Imagination Library program 10 years ago. It started with a few hundred children and now serves upwards of 2,500 children throughout the county. WTAP and the mall are collecting donations to celebrate the Imagination Library turning 20 years old in West Virginia.

Ashlee Beatty, Director of Curriculum and Instruction with Wood County Schools said the program is more than a book program.

“This is more than a book initiative, this is family engagement. This is school readiness. This is building social skills. So stories teach us a lot of things. Stories teach us how to communicate with others, how to deal with challenging situations. They also teach us oral language skills and basic book awareness skills, like what’s the front of a book, what’s the back, all of the print awareness skills,” Beatty said.

You can donate Sunday during the Telethon with cash or check.

Editor’s note: The video for this story will be added once it airs. Please check back for the updated video.