Have you heard about the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and its impact in Forsyth County? Over 13,000 kids in Forsyth County receive its FREE books every month in the mail! That is 60% of the kids that are eligible for this program!
Each month, the Dolly Parton Imagination Library (DPIL) provides an age-appropriate book (in Spanish or English) for each registered child in Forsyth County, absolutely free to the family. This program is locally managed by Smart Start of Forsyth County (SSFC).
SSFC provides an equitable early childhood system that fosters an environment for learning, growing, developing, and succeeding. Education begins at birth. As soon as a baby takes their first breath, they begin to gather and retain information about the world around them. Smart Start of Forsyth County exists to strengthen a child’s natural desire to learn. Smart Start is a nationally recognized program that assists families by preparing their young children (from birth through age five) for success in school and life. SSFC is also responsible for providing free resources to Early Childhood Educators across Forsyth County. DPIL is one of many of the resources that SSFC has to offer our community.
SSFC’s Chief Strategy Officer Garet Beane said, “Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library provides an efficient and effective strategy to promote literacy and a love of reading in Forsyth County. We are thrilled to offer these books in English and Spanish to all children from age birth to 5 years old. It is a great way for children to receive a special book in the mail addressed to them. It also gives them a wonderful opportunity to put their screens away and read their own books! We are thrilled to offer this valuable program to parents and children in our community in partnership with DPIL and the NC State Legislature.”
Improving early childhood literacy with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library creates opportunities for children to thrive and succeed in school, helping their communities grow and prosper. Research indicates every $1 a community invests in early childhood education yields a 13% return on investment per child annually through better education, economic, health, and social outcomes. To register a child for this free program, please visit www.SmartStart-FC.org
About Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become the preeminent early childhood book gifting program in the world. The flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation has gifted well over 150 million free books in Australia, Canada, The Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Imagination Library mails more than 1.8 million high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to registered children from birth to age five. Dolly envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading, inspiring them to dream. The program’s impact has been widely researched, and results suggest positive increases in key early childhood literacy metrics. Penguin Random House is the exclusive publisher for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. For more information, please visit imaginationlibrary.com.
