Country music legend Dolly Parton is in Missouri today to thank the state for working – probably from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. – to spread her reading program across the state.
Through a cost-sharing program between the state and Dolly’s foundation, the Imagination Library provides a free book each month to children up to age five. The program launched in Missouri last November and received more than 20,000 hits on its first day, temporarily knocking the registration website down.
State Education Commissioner Karla Eslinger said Missouri has enrolled more than 137,000 children in the Imagination Library due to tremendous interest.
“Once the love of literature, the love of books is awakened, it’s a spark. And that’s something that the child then wants to go to the library on their own, wants to continue learning on their own, and that’s through reading. So the initiative is important, but I can’t wait to see the results that will come from it,” she told Missourinet.
During his tenure as a congressman, Eslinger sponsored a Senate bill to fully fund the program.
“To me, this is phenomenal and proof that we all agree that literacy is important. The bill passed in the House. It passed in the Senate,” she said.
Missouri is the 14th state to commit to a statewide Imagination Library program, but the only one to fully fund the program with a budget of $11 million.
Dolly Parton launched the program in 1995 with a vision to foster a lifelong love of reading and inspire children to “dream more, learn more, engage more, and be more.” Imagination Library has given away more than 250 million free books worldwide since its launch.
To register for the program, visit ImaginationLibrary.com.
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