Opportunities to promote reading to area youth were able to get a boost recently thanks to an initiative by Niswonger Children’s Hospital.
Nicole Moore, health promotion coordinator with Niswonger, attended this week’s Kiwanis Club of Elizabethton meeting and provided the facility with a “Little Free Library”,  which is now on site at the city’s Kiwanis Park.
The concept of a Free Little Library was created in 2010 and encourages individuals to take a book from the small box and exchange it with another book to promote reading.
Moore told the Elizabethton Star there are two other little library locations, the Boys & Girls Club of Elizabethton/Carter County and at the Elizabethton Parks and Recreation Center. The coordinator stated that ten community sites were selected to free books to “anyone with a hunger for reading.”
With their primary focus being to assist children, the Kiwanis Club was quick to give praise to Moore and the hopsital.
“Thanks to Nicole Moore with Niswonger Children’s Hospital for coordinating the donation of a Little Free Library to Kiwanis Park in Elizabethton,” the group said in a statement issued to the Elizabethton Star. “We hope community members will enjoy some great new books. We are now accepting books and donations for books to keep the box full of good reads.”
The community initiative was made possible by a grant from the SunTrust Foundation, Moore said. MOMAC Studio handled the construction and painting of the little library provided at the Kiwanis Club meeting.”
According to the Little Free Library website, there are approximately 50,000 libraries located in 70 countries with millions of books being exchanged over the years.
The organization states it has a “social entrepreneurial mission, focused on providing access to books … “ and it is a goal that Niswonger Children’s Hospital can get behind, Moore said.
Community members can start donating books at each of the three locations in Elizabethton. Visit littlefreelibrary.org for more information on the program.