|
 A grant in the amount of $2,500 has been awarded by
the local International Paper Manufacturing Facility and the
International Paper Foundation to support the program in Logan
County. The International Paper Foundation is one of the ways
International Paper strives to reach its vision to be among the most
successful, sustainable and responsible companies in the world.
Started in 1952, the foundation annually provides millions in grants
to 501(c) (3) nonprofit organizations to address critical needs in
the communities where its employees live and work. Funding priority
is given to programs related to its signature causes: education,
hunger, health and wellness, disaster relief, and initiatives that
improve the planet. For more information, visit ipgiving.com.
Nichole Folkman, District Librarian for Hartsburg-Emden CUSD #21 has
also granted the Imagination Library $1,500 of her Voya Unsung
Heroes Award. Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), is a leading
provider of retirement plans for educators. Through the Voya Unsung
Heroes program, Voya awards grants to 50 K-12 educators across the
country each year to support their innovative and creative teaching
ideas. Voya also selects three top winners to receive additional
funds, and Nichole was selected as one of the top winners in 2020.
In its 20-plus years, the program has awarded more than $5 million
in grants to educators across the United States. Nichole received
this award as recognition for her innovative teaching idea, "Stags
Read,” which focuses on combining community and school resources to
change access to books. The project increases community reading and
literacy by providing books to pre-school children, through Dolly
Parton's Imagination Library; school children, through summer
reading; adults, through Free Little Libraries; and book swaps at
schools.
The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is a 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.
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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 affect school readiness. 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.”
Early in 2020, The United Way of Logan County and the Hartsburg-Emden School
District partnered to bring The Imagination Library to Hartsburg-Emden children.
Since that time, community businesses and individuals from all over Logan County
have supported the program, allowing its growth to Beason, Broadwell, Chestnut,
Cornland, Elkhart, Latham, Middletown, Mt. Pulaski and New Holland.. Find our
list of generous supporters at
https://www.uwlogan
countyil.org/dolly-parton-imagination-library-supporters. This support
has allowed growth from 29 children receiving books last summer, to 108 at this
time with 32 having graduated (reached the age of 5).
Parents that would like to register their preschoolers (birth up to age 5) that
live in any of the communities listed above may register them online at
https://
tinyurl.com/yaja3k4u or contact
the United Way of Logan County at 217-735-4499 or
uwloganil@comcast.net.
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 . 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] |
