CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Members of the Assistance League present a Little Free Library to the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA Cultural Center. Pictured in the back row are: Assistance League members Maggie Stalzer and Kallie Judkins, Y Preschool teacher Jenny Lawless and Assistance League member Ashley Johnson; seated in front are: Y preschool students Henry Songkhamdet, Valerie Vergara, Witten Koehler and Abigail Raya.

The Assistance League of Marshalltown has kicked off a new initiative: Bringing Little Lending Libraries to early childhood centers to spark a love of reading in young kids. This spring, four sites – Elim Children’s Center, Bobcat Academy, Sonshine Preschool and the YMCA-YWCA Preschool – received a Little Lending Library stocked with up to 100 books geared toward children five and under. The idea is that families of each school will choose a book to take home, read together and then return it to the library to choose another. Read. Return. Repeat.

Assistance League is excited to launch this new project as a way to encourage families to read together and build a love for books from an early age. Annually, the Assistance League of Marshalltown promotes and encourages reading in the community through its long-time partnerships with Building Healthy Families, Reach Out and Read and the Marshalltown Public Library Battle of the Books Program. This year, the Assistance League of Marshalltown donated more than $1,700 to these literacy-focused organizations.