Illinois Prairie Foundation Awards $1,800 to United Way of Logan County to Begin Dolly Parton Imagination Library

 

[May 13, 2020]   Thanks to a grant in the amount of $1,800 from the Illinois Prairie Community Foundation, the United Way of Logan County is excited to announce that we will begin introducing the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to Logan County pre-school children.

Inspired by her father’s inability to read and write Dolly started her Imagination Library in 1995 for the children within her home county. Today, her program spans four countries and mails over 1 million free books each month to children around the world. The purpose of this program is to provide books in the home to encourage a love of books, reading and learning and positively affecting readiness for school for kids. According to the National Commission on Reading, “The single most significant factor influencing a child’s early educational success is an introduction to books and being read to at home prior to beginning school.”

The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is a book program that mails free books each month to registered children from birth to age five in participating communities within the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Republic of Ireland. There is a cost per year per child of just $25 for all 12 books including shipping and handling.  

Due to limited funding, the program in Logan County will first be offered to children in the Hartsburg -Emden school district. Convinced of the positive impact this program could have on children in the community, Hartsburg-Emden had already been pursuing this program for their pre-school children.

As more donations and funding for this program are received, the program will be expanded to other areas of Logan County. Our intention is to be able to offer this program to all preschoolers throughout the Logan County.

Anyone that would like to sponsor a Logan County child for a year at $25, or multiple children, please donate at https://www.uwlogancountyil.org/ civicrm/contribute/transact?reset= 1&id=21  or text Dolly to 3131. Checks may also be mailed to United Way of Logan County P.O. Box 684 Lincoln IL 62656. All donations to this program will be designated to this program and will not affect the United Way of Logan County’s other grant programs to local non-profit agencies.

[Patti Becker
Administrative Director
The United Way of Logan County]