Grand Junction Imagination Library is celebrating a big milestone. It has distributed 25,000 books to local kids.

At no cost to families, the organization sends brand new, age appropriate books to kids under five.

It recently expanded the area it covers. Now more than a thousand kids are registered locally with the program.

Grand Junction Imagination Library volunteers are promoting early literacy and school preparedness.

The program’s purpose is to encourage children and their parents to read together.

“Literacy is so fundamentally important for every one, especially children in their developing years,” volunteer Lindsay Keller said.  “Statistics show that people receiving books from Imagination Library read to their children 75-percent more than they do without books in their home.”

Every child registered with the program gets one book per month mailed to them at their home.

The book deliveries continue until the child turns five or moves away from a qualifying zip code.

Volunteers estimate there are more than 3,000 local kids eligible to participate.

For more information or to register for the program, check out gjimaginationlibrary.org