Young children in Porter County can receive free books every month through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
The Porter County Community Foundation, Porter County Public Library System and Westchester Public Library System collaborated to bring Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to the county. Acknowledgment also goes to the state of Indiana for its support in advancing early literacy education across the state.
“The Porter County Community Foundation, in collaboration with First Things First Porter County, is delighted to join forces with our library systems to bring Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to our community,” said Bill Higbie, president and CEO of the foundation, in a press release. “Getting books into kids’ hands at an early age benefits us all.”
Children till 5 years old who are registered for the free program will be mailed a free book each month. Families in Porter County can enroll their eligible children on the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library website at ImaginationLibrary.com.
Within six to eight weeks of registering, each child will receive their first book, “The Little Engine That Could.” Books will continue arriving monthly by mail until the child turns five.
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is accessible to all children, regardless of income. Parton envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading and motivating children to “Dream More, Learn More, Care More and Be More.” She was inspired to create the library in her hometown in Tennessee due to her father’s inability to read.
The Imagination Library mails over 2 million free books a month. Since its launch in 1995, the nonprofit has gifted over 200 million free books in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland.
The Porter County Community Foundation collaborates with community members to create funding for grants and scholarships. Since its founding in 1996, they have awarded over $37 million. The foundation is based in Valparaiso.
