Community Foundation Announces 2023 Photo Contest Winners

Nero, 3, Sire, 2, and Bren, 5, submitted by Brandie Swanson

The Community Foundation of St. Joseph County is delighted to announce the winners of the 2023 Imagination Library Photo Contest. The contest, which was open to any families currently participating in the Imagination Library program in St. Joseph County, asked for photos of enrolled children enjoying the free books they receive through the program.

The Community Foundation received more than 170 photos. The following 12 entries were recognized as particularly outstanding. Each was awarded a $25 Amazon gift card:

• Parent Name: Brandie Swanson; Children: Nero, 3, Sire, 2, and Bren, 5
• Parent Name: Michael Voll; Child: Benji, 2
• Parent Name: Breanne Blankenship; Child; Noelle, 3.5 months
• Parent Name: Sonam Raut; Child: Shraavi, 8 months
• Parent Name: Albertina Estrada Martinez; Child: Amaru, 1
• Parent Name: Hayley Moore; Child: Dempsey, 3
• Parent Name: Aliyah Turner; Child: Anaielli, 15 months
• Parent Name: Cassandra Grove; Child: Harley, 1
• Parent Name: Laurie Sommer; Child: Eliana, 3
• Parent Name: Maya Williams; Child: Winston, 9 months
• Parent Name: Paris Thomas; Children: Nia, 3 and Yul III, 10 months
• Parent Name: Zuleiva Nunez; Child: Ivanna 16 months

All of the winning photos can be viewed on the Community Foundation’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

IS YOUR CHILD ENROLLED IN THE IMAGINATION LIBRARY? HERE’S HOW…

What is the Imagination Library? Through this remarkable early childhood literacy program, any child who lives in St. Joseph County can receive a FREE, new, age-appropriate book by mail once a month, from birth until they turn five—no strings attached!

Register your child online at imaginationlibrary.com or in person at any public library in St. Joseph County. Once a child is registered, he or she will receive the first Imagination Library book within seven to nine weeks through the US mail. After that, a book will arrive every month until the child’s fifth birthday, when he or she “graduates” from the program. Nearly 10,000 children are currently enrolled in this program in St. Joseph County—more than two out of every three eligible children.

The Community Foundation thanks the sponsors of this program, including Nancy S. Rosenstock, the Jon and Sonja Laidig Foundation, the Wiekamp Foundation/Julie and Jim Schwartz, the William and Kathryn Shields Fund, the Frank Family Fund, the Charles and Anne Hillman Family, the University of Notre Dame, the African American Community Fund, the Linda and Bipin Doshi Family, the James M. and Marjorie H. Wilson Family, the Mittler Family Foundation, and the Family & Children’s Center Foundation.