Free copies of WCI’s book available for local families

West Central Initiative’s Director of Early Childhood, Nancy Jost, was inspired to create Let’s Go! after being shown a children’s book about Minnesota. 

“The book was beautiful,” said Jost. “But it didn’t represent our region of Minnesota—our beautiful lakes, trees, cultures, and communities. So, I shared the idea of creating a similar children’s book, but specific to our region with our team, including our Early Childhood Initiative Coordinators.”

  Fast forward three years, and 7,000 hard-cover copies of Let’s Go! Ten Adventures Through West Central Minnesota are ready for distribution.

  “Our Early Childhood Initiative Coordinators partnered with their communities to develop themes that represent our region,” said Jost. “We took special care to ensure the book was true to the people and  places of west central Minnesota.”

  Visit www.wcif.org to view opportunities throughout west central Minnesota where families can receive copies of the book. The organization’s goal is to distribute one book per family with young children.

  “Some children were lucky enough to get a sneak peek of the book,” said West Central Initiative Early Childhood Specialist Marsha Erickson. “They were inspired to play outside, explore their surroundings, and wanted to learn more about other cultures. That was our hope. Mission accomplished.”

About West Central Initiative 

West Central Initiative (WCI) is a regional community foundation and an economic development organization serving the nine west central Minnesota counties of Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Otter Tail, Pope, Stevens, Traverse, and Wilkin and a portion of White Earth Nation. Through philanthropy and planning, WCI fuels insight and action for the benefit of our region and our world. Since 1986, WCI has provided more than $55 million in loans and $65 million in grants  to businesses and organizations. 

For more information about the organization, visit WCI online at www.wcif.org.