To help get more books into the hands of young children, the state is teaming up with music legend Dolly Parton. Country music legend and philanthropist Dolly Parton has signed a $1.6 million contract with Tennessee to expand her literacy initiative, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
Children in Illinois from birth to age five, regardless of family poverty, will receive “free, high-quality books” in the mail as part of this initiative. The agreement with Governor JB Pritzker’s office will expand Imagination Library’s reach across the state. The program is already active in a number of local communities and school districts.
When asked about the relationship, Pritzker claimed it will “bring Dolly to every doorstep.”
Pritzker said in the statement:
“As a longtime early childhood advocate, I’m incredibly excited for what’s to come.”
“These are some of the most crucial years for learning of a person’s lifetime, and this initiative will connect low-income families to resources their children will need for lifelong success.”
Parton established the Imagination Library in 1995, and it is now managed by her Dollywood Foundation. Parton began her book donation program in her native Sevier County, Tennessee. But it caught on, and the program is now available in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and Ireland.
According to her organization, one in ten American children under the age of five participate in Parton’s book program. Dollywood Foundation, a kid who enrolls in the program at birth may receive as many as sixty free books by the age of six.
The initiative provides access to braille and multilingual books at a discounted wholesale rate, with shipping costs covered by the program’s state and school partners. Imagination Library has improved children’s preparation for kindergarten by 29%.
You can also read about the Tracy Brown Books details below:
Pritzker announced the program and other improvements in early childhood education at a school in the city of Cahokia in the state’s southern region.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library allows us to provide free books to kids all around the state of Illinois Stratton added. I think it’s wonderful that people like Dolly Parton are working to instill a love of reading in our children from a young age.
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