A local organization promoting early childhood literacy recently received an anonymous $10,000 donation.

Winkler Imagination Library Committee Member Joyce Sawatzky explains the boost will clear out their entire waiting list, bringing 30 more children into the program.

"We're very grateful," Sawatzky says, adding the average wait time is two to three months.

The anonymous donor will help bring their total number to over 750 kids who receive a free book every month from birth to age five. Sawatzky notes it costs approximately $3-4 per month, per child.

However she explains research has shown that pre-school test scores improve by 30 percent in communities who have an imagination library. Parents learning English have also benefited from having a child enrolled.

"It really is an amazing program," she says. "It's such minimal dollars invested to change the future for a lot of families."

The Imagination Library launched in the Winkler and Plum Coulee area in October of 2014.