The United Way of Champaign County has joined with the Dollywood Foundation to bring Dolly Parton’s famous Imagination Library to kids in Champaign County.
The Imagination Library provides a free age-appropriate book to each registered child every month through age 5. Parton, inspired by her father’s inability to read or write, launched the program in 1995 and has seen it grow to tremendous heights, distributing more than 2.6 million books each month to children around the world.
The United Way announced the program’s local chapter on its Instagram page.
Children must be registered by a parent or guardian to receive the books, which are mailed directly to their homes each month. There is no charge. Sign up here or here.
Registered children will begin receiving books about eight to 12 weeks after registration. The first book distributed is always the children’s classic “The Little Engine that Could.” Children who sign up in December should expect to receive their first book near the end of February.
“An incredible amount of research shows that access to books in the home is connected to higher literacy rates and leads to school success,” United Way Chief Impact Officer Beverley Baker said. “Reading together also brings families closer and builds great memories!”
It costs United Way of Champaign County $26 to provide one child with Imagination Library books for one year and $130 to provide the entire Imagination Library — 60 books — to one child for five years. To donate, visit the United Way online.