MANITOWANING—There is no star in country music more beloved than the legendary Dolly Parton. As one of the best-selling musicians of all time (100 million-plus album sales) and a reputation as a savvy businesswoman she has also become a philanthropist of the first water during her 50-year career. Her influence on youth literacy through her innovative ‘Imagination Library’ has stretched far and wide across the globe, even onto Manitoulin’s shores.
The Assiginack Public Library, with the help of community supporters, has signed onto the Dolly Parton Foundation initiative that will see children aged zero to five years of age receive an age-appropriate book each month—all free of charge.
Assiginack librarian Kari Gerhard explains that the Dolly Parton Foundation partly funds the program, with generous donations from community groups and individuals like the Assiginack Family Health Team (although the municipal council declined to chip in).
The program is open to every child up to the age of five, regardless of means, in order to prevent the books from becoming “the poor kids’ books.” Thanks to the program, close to 60 children in Assiginack will be receiving the books in the mail—the first group in July. “Families can sign up any time before the end of June to receive a book in August,” said Ms. Gerhard.
The librarian explains that the country singer grew up poor and did not have books in her home when she was a child and does not want that fate to befall other young people.
“These are real books,” notes Ms. Gerhard. “Six different ones based on age-appropriate levels.”
At present, the program is open to children in Assiginack, but she notes that any community could set up the program.
Ms. Gerhard stresses the importance of having books in the home for the development of children, with studies showing that having as few as 20 books in a home can propel children into higher education. “With this program a child will have 60 books by the time they are five-years-old,” she said.
Books have a myriad of positive impacts on a child’s development and a parent’s connection to their child. Reading to a child from a young age has been shown to improve bonding and reading has enormous impacts on the development of a child’s socialization and can help with language acquisition, communication skills, social skills and literacy skills.
In a letter posted to her Imagination Library site, Ms. Parton cites her motivation for creating the program in 1995. “Before he passed away, my Daddy told me the Imagination Library was probably the most important thing I had ever done. I can’t tell you how much that meant to me because I created the Imagination Library as a tribute to my Daddy. He was the smartest man I have ever known but I know in my heart his inability to read probably kept him from fulfilling all of his dreams.
“Inspiring kids to love to read became my mission. In the beginning, my hope was simply to inspire the children in my home county but here we are today with a worldwide program that gives a book a month to well over one million children.
“Of course, I have not done this alone. The real heroes of our story are the thousands of local organizations who have embraced my dream and made it their own. They raise millions of dollars each year and wake up every day with a passion to make sure their kids have every opportunity to succeed.
“It’s been quite a journey, but we have so much more left to do. I would love for your community to join our family so please take the time to explore our website. Let’s share this dream that all children should grow up in a home full of books.
“The first step is always the hardest, but you’ll never know unless you try…”
