Dolly’’s Imagination Library is coming soon
By Eugenia Jones
In addition to her bubbly personality and beautiful voice, beloved country music singer Dolly Parton has a passion for helping others. Inspired by her father’s inability to read, Dolly began gifting books free of charge to children from birth to age five in 1995. Her project, Imagination Library, began by providing books to children in her home county in East Tennessee. Today, through funding shared by Dolly and local community partners, the project now provides books to children in five countries and gifts over 1 million free books each month to children around the world. (https://imaginationlibrary.com/)
Today, a local non-profit, Friends of the McCreary County Public Library, Inc., is proud to announce Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of McCreary County is coming soon!
“The McCreary County Public Library (MCPL) is thankful that the Friends of the McCreary County Public Library (a non-profit organization which seeks to promote the McCreary County Public Library) has helped spearhead this exciting new effort to become an affiliate of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, to benefit the children of our County,” a spokesperson for MCPL said. “This program, based on Dolly’s vision of every child developing a love of reading, will be a wonderful asset to McCreary County. We know that children are excited about books, and we want them to feel the magic that books can create while fostering a love of reading. Moreover, with this program we are able to ensure every child under the age of five will have books mailed to them, regardless of their family’s income.”
The Friends of the McCreary County Public Library organization is in the final stages of establishing the program and plan to begin registering children to receive books this fall.
The organization is currently seeking sponsors who would like to invest in the children of McCreary County. The organization offers two types of sponsorships: individual and corporate. By donating a sponsorship of $30, a child will receive books for one year. A donation of $150 will provide books from birth through age five.
Those interested in being a sponsor can contact the McCreary County Public Library at 606-376-8738.
