Audubon, Carroll, Greene and Guthrie Counties – Partnerships 4 Families, the Early Childhood Iowa Area for Audubon, Carroll, Greene and Guthrie Counties in conjunction with Our Community Health Foundation is launching an ambitious new fundraising campaign to bring the joy and pride of book ownership to children across our four county region. P4F and Our Community Health Foundation in partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library will provide one age-appropriate, high-quality book every month to children birth to age 5 — for free. The pilot is made possible thanks to The Dollywood Foundation of United States, Partnerships 4 Families, Our Community Health Foundation and future donors.
The program has already kicked off in Guthrie County due to wide county support.
Informational meetings will be held in October for Carroll, Audubon and Greene Counties for organizations and individuals who want to learn more about how they can support the program in their county or be a champion for the promotion of the program. All donations are tax deductible.
The Greene County meeting is slated for Tuesday, Oct. 11, at 10:30 am at the Greene County Extension office.
“Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is an exciting way for the Partnerships 4 Families to extend its mission of providing accessible early learning support to children in our Early Childhood Iowa area,” says Cindy Duhrkopf, area director for Partnerships 4 Families. “While children can access a world of information through the libraries, having books of their own at home is a powerful way to inspire a lifelong love of reading.”
P4F and Our Community Health Foundation will open enrollment into the program hopefully in January of 2023. Children 0-5 will be eligible for the program in select communities identified by postal code. The goal is to register 400 children for the program in the first year. Partnerships 4 Families is providing grant funds of $10,000 to jump start the program and is looking for matching funds and donors to expand the program.
The pilot program will be reviewed throughout the year and hopefully additional funding will help to expand Dolly Parton Imagination Library beyond the first year. The ultimate goal is to serve every child 0-5 in Audubon, Carroll, Greene and Guthrie Counties, which is slightly more than 2000 children.
“Research shows that having even 20 books at home fosters a love of learning and sets children up for success when they start school,” says Duhrkopf. “We know this program will resonate with residents and we want to invite them to help support this life-changing program.”
Persons who want more information can contact Duhrkopf at p4fchildren@gmail.com.
About Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library – Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become the preeminent early childhood book-gifting program in the world. The flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation has gifted well over 140 million free books in Australia, Canada, The Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom and the United States. The Imagination Library mails more than 1.7 million high quality, age-appropriate books each month to registered children from birth to age 5. Dolly envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading, inspiring children to dream. The impact of the program has been widely researched and results suggest positive increases in key early childhood literacy metrics. Penguin Random House Canada is the exclusive publisher for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library all across Canada. For more information, please visit imaginationlibrary.com.
