Whidbey Community Foundation is excited to announce they are now a Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library affiliate! All families with children ages 0-5 on Whidbey Island are now able to register and begin receiving a free book for their child every month, mailed directly to their home until the child’s fifth birthday. Families can enroll online by visiting our website.
“Whidbey Community Foundation is thrilled to partner with The Dollywood Foundation to bring the Imagination Library to Whidbey Island! We are deeply committed to the well-being of young children and their families, and a program like this to bring free, high-quality books into the hands of all young children in our community is cause for celebration as we enter the new year. Thank you to our state legislators for your commitment to Washington’s children and to the Imagination Library of Washington for your support in this expansion effort. Happy reading!”
Jessie Gunn, Executive Director of the Whidbey Community Foundation.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library mails high quality, age-appropriate books each month to children from birth to five years old, at no cost to the family. This early literacy program is proven to achieve equitable access to books, increase school readiness, foster a love of reading and books, and improve family engagement. Dolly’s inspiration behind creating the Imagination Library in 1995 in her home state of Tennessee can be attributed to her father and his inability to read. Inspiring kids to love to read became her mission and to-date, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has gifted over 195 million books to children in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and the Republic of Ireland.
Whidbey Community Foundation joins current program affiliate, Stanwood-Camano Rotary Club who is serving 750 children to-date, in providing access to all children ages 0-5 in Island County. In total, over 4,600 children under the age of five are eligible for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Island County.
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, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has gifted well over 180 million free books in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and The Republic of Ireland. The Imagination Library mails more than 2 million high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to registered children from birth to age five. Dolly envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading, inspiring them 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 is the exclusive publisher for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. For more information, please visit www.imaginationlibrary.com.
