Emmanuel Center/Books from Birth

Emmanuel Center, founded in 1989, is a ministry which serves the 38126 zip code, one of the most impoverished in the county, by providing after-school programs including social service programs, spiritual direction, recreation activities, mentoring and tutoring. For the 2020-2021 school year, Emmanuel Center adapted to the pandemic by offering a Virtual Learning Pod to the children and families it serves. The pod hosted fifty-five students in grades K-12. In the Learning Pod, students attend their schools virtually, receiving help with independent schoolwork and additional literacy tutoring. Emmanuel Center has been providing educational support packets, food boxes and other assistance, delivered to each family based on its needs. The center will resume its six-week literacy camp, Camp Hope, this summer. Emmanuel Center's vision is hope, education and success for all children.

Books from Birth, now a part of Porter-Leath, is affiliated with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. Its mission is to advance childhood literacy and its program reaches almost half of all children from birth to age 5 in Shelby County. It delivers one book per month to every child enrolled in the program. As the local and largest affiliate of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library and in partnership with the Governor's Books from Birth Foundation, Books from Birth creates literacy connections for families. These connections inspire nurturing bonds between caregivers and children and help provide preschoolers the foundation they need for future academic success.