United Way of North Central Iowa has announced the launch of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in Cerro Gordo, Floyd, Franklin, Mitchell, Hancock, Kossuth, Winnebago, and Worth Counties. The Imagination Library provides children with a free new age-appropriate book every month from birth through their fifth birthday. Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become the preeminent early childhood book gifting program in the world. The Imagination Library mails more than 1.8 million high-quality books each month to registered children from birth to age five. Overall, the program has gifted well over 160 million free books in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and The Republic of Ireland.
The impact of the program has been widely researched and results suggest positive increases in key early childhood literacy metrics. Evaluations indicate that Imagination Library is getting kids more interested in reading and getting their parents more comfortable reading to their children. In north-central Iowa, 25% of children are not reading at proficiency by fourth grade, making them four times as likely to drop out of school. There are more than 6,600 eligible children in our eight-county region.
The average sponsorship cost in north-central Iowa is $2.50 per month per child. For only $30, you can sponsor a child for one year. United Way of North Central Iowa also has corporate sponsorship opportunities for local businesses to sponsor the program. For more information on how to sign up a child to receive books or how you can sponsor a child, please go to www.unitedwaynci.org or call the office at 641-423-1774.
