Chelsea Library receives $5,000 Wellness Foundation grant for Chelsea Reads Together program

The Chelsea District Library has partnered with the Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation for a month-long community reading program in October.

The community will be reading "The Blue Zones" by Dan Buettner, which focuses on healthy habits for living longer, happy lives.

The goal of Chelsea Reads Together is to support wellness by encouraging participants to connect with the message of healthy living explored by "The Blue Zones" and to establish greater awareness within the community of what it means to live well, according to information from the library.

The $5,000 mini-grant from the Wellness Foundation will support events and provide books and other supplies to promote health and wellness throughout the community.

“This partnership and the financial support of the Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation is making it possible to take Chelsea Reads Together to the next level, bringing in nationally known speakers and distributing over 400 copies of 'The Blue Zones' throughout Chelsea,” Sara Wedell, head of adult services at Chelsea District Library, said in a press release.

The grant is part of an ongoing effort by the Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation to address health-related needs in its service area of Chelsea, Dexter, Grass Lake, Manchester and Stockbridge.

“The Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation is thrilled that Chelsea Reads Together is featuring a book spotlighting longevity and wellness. We are honored to be working with a great institution and are excited about creating a culture of wellness in the community,” Patrick Conlin, chairman of the Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation Grant Committee, said in a press release.

Chelsea Reads Together is a partnership between the Chelsea District Library, Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation and Chelsea School District focused on creating a community read where an entire community reads one book and comes together to discuss and engage in activities inspired by the themes of the book.

Lisa Allmendinger is a regional reporter for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com. For more Chelsea stories, visit our Chelsea page.