Wayne and Sharon Workman are Traverse Sunrise Rotarians with a goal of having every Rotarian across our five-county area invest $150 to help raise $225,000 for our children's future. 
Only 44% of children in our region are kindergarten-ready, and 52% of 3rd graders are not proficient readers.  Wayne and Sharon believe that reading to children is the strongest predictor of kindergarten success.   Consequently the Traverse City Sunrise Rotary has had a 14-year partnership with Munson Medical and Traverse Area District Library to reach every area family with a newborn with book and literacy information, stressing the importance of reading to young children. 
 
Pursuant to a partnership with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, babies receive age-appropriate books every month for five years with no cost to families.  All children in the 5-county area (Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska and Leelanau Counties) can now enroll in the program.  In Benzie County 435 children are enrolled--some 58.6% of those eligible.
 
The Q&A following Wayne and Sharon's PowerPoint presentation reflected the timeliness of their program.