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What is Imagination Library?
In 1996, Dolly Parton launched an exciting new effort to benefit the children of her home county in east
Tennessee . Dolly wanted to foster a love of reading among her county’s preschool children and their families. She wanted children to be excited about books and to feel the magic that books can create. Moreover, she could insure that every child would have books, regardless of their family’s income.
Dolly decided to mail a brand new, age appropriate book each month to every child under 5 in
Sevier
County . With the arrival of every child’s first book, the classic The Little Engine That Could ™, every child could now experience the joy of finding their very own book in their mail box. These moments continue each month until the child turns 5, and in their very last month in the program they receive Look Out Kindergarten Here I Come.
Today there are 732 communities in 43 states, the District of Columbia, Canada and the
United Kingdom offering the Imagination Library. Approximately 4.5 million books were mailed to preschool children in 2007. Now, it’s time for the Imagination Library to come to
Columbia . Heart of Missouri United Way, through a unique partnership with Daniel Boone Regional Library, initiated the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program in
Columbia in May 2008.
How does the program work?
This exciting program provides free books to children under the age of five living in
Columbia . Beginning May 1, 2008, from the day the child is born until his/her 5th birthday. All registered children under the age of five living in
Columbia receive a free age-appropriate book each month in the mail chosen for the program by a blue ribbon panel of experts developed by the Dolly Parton Foundation. Take a look at the themes choosen for each age.
How do we know the program is effective?
Countless studies tout the relationship between early literacy and school performance. By providing the children of our community with twelve quality, age-appropriate books each year, we seek to increase: children’s access to books, encourage parents to read more often to their children, support children in the development of a love for reading, and better prepare children to begin school.
Imagination Library Really Works!
A recent study of Imagination Library graduates in
South Carolina reveals that 81.3% read to their children more frequently, 95.9% feel their children’s love of reading is enhanced, 59.1% of parents feel their children would have access to fewer books without the program, and 93.3% feel their children are better prepared for school because of Imagination Library! (United Way of the
Piedmont , SC).
We need your support…
Ideally, we would like to reach 100% of our children. We cannot make significant steps toward that goal without your help! “Imagination Library was designed to help children dream more, learn more, care more and be more, and it is really working," says Dolly Parton. Just $30 is needed to sponsor one child for one year. With your support, we can help every young child find the spark of their own imagination through reading books.
