The Allen County Public Library announced a fundraising campaign today/Thursday to bring Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to area children. WBOI’s Ella Abbott reports.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a national program to help children build up their own collection of age appropriate books. Every month, the program sends books directly to children’s homes, with no charge.
The Allen County Public Library has begun a fundraising campaign to bring the program to the county. Katie Mullins is the community engagement coordinator in Indiana for the Dollywood Foundation. She got her start as a shelver at the ACPL.
Mullins said it's important to help foster a love of reading when children are young.
“When young children are read to in the earliest years of their life, as their brains are developing, it has a profound impact on overall brain development and builds a strong foundation for future learning," she said.
The library has set a goal of $100,000 to bring the program to Allen. That amount would fund the launch and sustain the program for the first two years. If it succeeds, Allen County will be the 78th county and the largest county in Indiana to adopt the program.
Several surrounding counties in Northeast Indiana have the program provided through United Way. Find a full list of Indiana counties with Imagination Library on their website.
