EMMIE BOESE
Hutch Post
Country Music singer Dolly Parton turned 78 years old Friday, Jan. 19.
United Way of Reno County wished Parton a happy birthday on Facebook as the one who makes the imagination library possible for children ages 0-5 in Reno County.
Project Coordinator Elizabeth Walton said the United Way has sponsored Dolly Parton's Imagination Library since 2011. Walton said 2,230 kids in Reno County are registered for the program. The imagination library provides free books every month for the qualified age groups regardless of economic status.
"We feel like there are a lot of factors that go into the children being better prepared, but we are very confident that Dolly Parton is a part of that increase and we are real proud of being able to offer this here in Reno County and now also Stafford County," Walton said.
United Way said Parton's inspiration for the library came from her father's inability to read and write. Walton said Parton's hope for young children to become more efficient in reading and writing may have an effect in Reno County.
She said in the fall of 2018, which was seven years after the program launched in Reno County, kindergarten readiness scores had improved from 48% of children passing K-readiness assessments to 79% of Reno County children testing "Ready."
"The effects on early childhood reading have been proven and life long and Imagination Library has a large impact on that here in Reno County and across the world," Walton said.
The imagination library launched in 1995 in Parton's hometown of Sevier County, Tennessee. In 2022, two million books were mailed each month globally.
Sign up information for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is available at United Way of Reno County. A direct sign up link to the imagination library website is also provided here.
United Way can also register a child over the phone by calling (620) 669-9329.
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