The easiest way to enrich a child's vocabulary, develop early literacy and critical thinking skills, and prepare children for success in kindergarten is to read aloud to a child.
Here at United Way, we have many amazing partners and community impact programs that strive to give back to our community every day. This includes the Imagination Library, founded by the one and only Dolly Parton. Established in 1995, Dolly was inspired by her father's inability to read and pledged to help kids find a passion for reading.
The Imagination Library provides FREE books to any child age 0-5 in Hughes, Stanley, Hyde, Sully, Haakan, Lyman, Dewey, and Potter counties. Each book is age appropriate and includes such titles as The Little Engine That Could, The Poky Puppy, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, and Favorite Finger Rhymes. Books are mailed to the child's home each month until their fifth birthday. Children in our local communities will be able to build their own home library and access the joy of reading right from home.
If you or someone you know has a little one, we encourage you to enroll them in this amazing program to help ignite an interest in reading. With over 2 million kids registered and 200 million books gifted, the Imagination Library has improved the lives of so many families and will continue to advocate for kids across the globe.