Partners for Children and Families announced its plan to expand the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in Moore County.
The Imagination Library fosters a love of reading among children from birth to age 5 through the gift of a specially selected book delivered right to their home each month. With the support of the N.C. General Assembly and the Smart Start Network, the Partnership has expanded the program in Moore County to reach 2,750 children this year. Those Moore County children receive over 30,000 books per year.
“We are very grateful to the state for funding the Imagination Library,” said Julie Pitts, the Partnership’s early literacy specialist, in a press release. “But the program has been so successful that we have reached the limit of our state funding. Just to be clear, state funding is sufficient to supply books for all current enrollees until their 5th birthday, but we need funds to enroll new children in the program.”
Stuart Mills, the Partnership’s executive director, commented, “We had to make a decision – will we close enrollment to the Imagination Library for new children, which is happening in several counties, or will we continue to expand the program, relying on local resources? Funding is tight, but literacy is a priority in Moore County, and reading to small children is important for the development of their brains and their future success. As an agency, we are prioritizing this program and will continue to accept new children as long as possible.”
Julia Latham, the Partnership’s resource development coordinator, stated: “We recently had a Casino Night Fundraiser, and the proceeds from that event will go a long way towards expanding this program, at least through this academic year. We would like to thank the various sponsors of that fundraiser, including SanStone Health and Rehabilitation and McPeake Hotels.”
If you live in Moore County and want to enroll your child in the Imagination Library, go to https://www.pfcfmc.org/ or call 910-949-4045.
If you would like to support the expansion of the Imagination Library, please consider a donation to the Partnership of $180, which is the cost of books for one child from birth to their fifth birthday. Go to: https://www.pfcfmc.org/ or call 910-949-4045.
The Partnership has several other early reading programs in Moore County, including Raising a Reader, New Books Good Looks and the Summer Reading Stations, which served over 2,000 children and distributed more than 3,000 books last summer.
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