United Way of Union County is proud to introduce the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to Union County children 20 September 2008

If you want to make sure children are ready to learn in school, one of the best guarantees is to read to them when they are young. So United Way of Union County is working to make sure that Union County children and their parents have books in their hands. In partnership with our corporate sponsors: Time Warner Cable, the Union County Foundation, and the Marysville Public Library, United Way of Union County is introducing the nationally-acclaimed Dolly Parton Imagination Library to our community. All Union County children from birth to their fifth birthday are eligible to be enrolled in the program which supplies them with a new, free book once a month at their home. “We are really excited to do this,” said Shari Marsh, United Way of Union County Executive Director. “It’s totally free for families. Our partnering sponsors joined us to make this possible. What we are covering is the cost of the book and postage. The books are mailed directly to the child’s home.” Children enrolled in the program will receive 12 hard-covered books a year. The program aims to select books that are age-appropriate and books that will encourage parents to read to their children. Studies have shown that investing in early-childhood education yields more productive older students, better citizens, and employees. Better-educated children generally stay out of crime; need few out-of-home placements, and less counseling. Children who are read to for one hour a day enter school with a vocabulary of 10,000 to 14,000 words. Children who have been read to only 30 hours total in their first five years have a vocabulary of about 4,000 words. For poor children, the biggest obstacle is often the scarcity of books and appropriate material. That is what motivated Dolly Parton to establish this program in 1996, launching it in her home of Sevier County, Tennessee. The program went national in 1999. The Dolly Parton Foundation underwrites the national administrative costs so local expenses remain minimal. It’s totally free for families. Our partnering sponsors joined us to make this possible. What we are covering is the cost of the book and postage. The books are mailed directly to the child’s home. A local collaboration of representatives from United Way, the Council for Union County Families, the OSU Extension Office, the Union County Retired Teachers Association, the Marysville Public Library, Consolidated Care, Inc., and the Union County Board of Developmental Disabilities worked to make the program a reality on a local level. “I think it may reach people who do not currently use the library,” said Ellen Mangine, Assistant Director of the Marysville Public Library. “It is our hope that this program will spur a love of reading and a desire for people to become active library patrons.” Enrollment brochures are available by clicking here or at the Marysville Public Library (including the Raymond branch), the Plain City Library, the Richwood-North Union Public Library, the Union County Health Department, the Council for Union County Families, Leads Headstart, the OSU Extension Office, and the United Way office. The cost of the program for United Way is $30 per year per child, or $2.50 a book. Individuals can sponsor a special child in their lives (their own child, a grandchild, or a needy child) by completing a Child Sponsor Form. For more information, please contact the United Way of Union County at (937) 644-8381 ext. 1 or the Marysville Public Library at (937) 642-1876.