ROCKINGHAM — Parents who want their young children to receive free books in the mail each month are invited to open house at the Richmond County Partnership for Children on Nov. 14.

From 4-7 that evening, Partnership staff will be available to answer questions and provide information on the services the agency provides, including help finding affordable child care and preparing young children for school. Parents also may register their children for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which soon will send age-appropriate books to 1,000 preschool children in Richmond County.

The Imagination Library effort will fall under the Partnership’s Reach Out and Read early-literacy program, which puts children’s reading materials in local pediatricians’ offices and the county Health Department.

Financing for the book mailings comes from the N.C. General Assembly, which voted during its recent session to set aside $10.5 million over two years so the state’s Smart Start program could work with Parton’s Imagination Library. The Partnership is affiliated with Smart Start.

The open house will be at 315 S. Lawrence St., Rockingham. Parking will be available in the front and rear of the building.

For more information, contact Mamie Legrand at 910-997-3773 or [email protected].

Staff report