The United Way of Chester County is working on a project to bring some joy to some of Chester County’s littlest residents. Eight of their existing Born Learning Trails will soon feature kid-sized Little Free Libraries.

The libraries are courtesy of a grant by CCRES and are designed to promote reading through its ‘take one, leave one’ approach.

The trails have been part of a United Way initiative to promote community awareness about the value of early learning. Since 2009, the trails have been installed county-wide in areas including Coatesville, Downingtown, East Goshen, Parkesburg, Phoenixville, West Chester and West Grove.

A series of signs and stencils are a highlight of the trails and are intended to promote language development activities for young children.

The Little Free Libraries will house and promote early reading books. Local businesses and volunteers will build, install and maintain the wood and glass structures.

Employees of Siemens started things off as a group of 40 volunteers gathered to construct the libraries by hand at the Charles A. Melton Center for Arts and Education, fully donating their time and expertise.

“It was a special experience for our team to be able to create something that will become a permanent fixture in our local parks for all ages to enjoy together.

“It’s those personal experiences that impact our employees in a meaningful way and we feel privileged to be a part of that,” shared Philip Ankel, Partner at Siemens Controlling and Finance Audit, North America.

The United Way has long promoted the value of early learning in a child’s development. “Research tells us children are ‘born learning.’ That means five years of education takes place before they ever enter kindergarten. Early learning is essential to success in school, which is essential to success in life.  We’re excited to have the addition of the Little Free Libraries and thankful to partners like Siemens who help bring these resources to communities across Chester County,” shared Claudia Hellebush, United Way of Chester County CEO.

You can learn more about the Born Learning Trails and the Little Free Libraries here.