OREGON – Kids across the state of Oregon will soon be able to participate in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
The announcement to launch the program statewide came from Governor Tina Kotek’s office Wednesday. This expansion will help Oregon work toward its goal of making books from the program available to kids ages 5-years-old and under in every county.
“We know that every child is full of promise,” Governor Kotek said. “And the expansion of this program across Oregon is another key step we are taking as part of a broader strategy to improve how we support our kids as they learn to read.”
Supported by The Dollywood Foundation, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library was launched by the country music legend back in 1995 and is funded by the foundation in partnership with local community organizations.
The program allows any child ages 0 to 5 to receive a free age appropriate book each month of the year. Over the past 30 years, more than 220 million free books have been delivered to children in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and The Republic of Ireland. In Oregon, more than 54,000 kids are enrolled through 55 community programs.
Dolly Parton showed her enthusiasm about expanding the program to all Oregon counties in a youtube video with a unique twist on her classic song, “I Will Always Love You.”
Under Senate Bill 5506, $1.7 million was appointed to the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) specifically to expand the program statewide.
“Brain science clearly shows that kids start to develop literacy skills from birth,” said DELC Director Alyssa Chatterjee. “That’s why here in Oregon, we’re making major investments to help kids develop the joy of reading.”
Families can visit www.imaginationlibrary.com to find out if the program is available in their area or to sign up to be notified when the program expands to their community.
To ensure that all children can participate, new local program partners are needed, and existing Imagination Library programs are encouraged to grow the capacity to register additional children.
To learn more about becoming a community partner, contact Rachel King at [email protected]
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.