COMMENTARY: Imagination Library prepares children for school

From Paul Thompson
Executive director, United Way of McLeod County
After two years of consulting with our United Way peers and hours of board deliberation, we are excited and proud to have launched Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in August. This program is one of the first steps we’re taking to shift our focus from solely fundraising, to providing a proactive component called Community Impact.

My hope with this commentary is to answer a few of the most frequently asked questions surrounding this new initiative. For example: What is the Imagination Library? How can I get my child enrolled? How can I support the program?

First off, the launch means every child who resides in McLeod County and was born in 2009 is currently eligible to receive an age-appropriate hard back book in the mail each month. The books are a gift from donors to the United Way of McLeod County. The program is absolutely free to the newborns and parents. As you read this, we have already enrolled over 125 children, representing all eight county zip codes.

Countless studies and common sense tells us that 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're young. As host, the UWMC determined to begin enrollment of children born only in 2009 and then expand to those born in 2010, 2011 and so on. Imagination Library is designed to eventually enroll every child in McLeod County ages birth to 5, regardless of socioeconomic status.

Children enrolled in the program will get 12 books a year delivered to their homes for free. The first book in the Imagination Library is “The Little Engine That Could." The program aims to select books that are age-appropriate and titles that will encourage parents to read to their kids. The cost to the United Way is roughly $29 a year per child, which equates to $2.33 a book. Newborns enrolled this fall will have a personal library of 60 books when they exit the program at age five.

Studies done for the Dollywood Foundation regarding this program have shown that investing in early childhood education yields more productive older students, better citizens and employees. However, not enough kids get that important education in their early years. A high percentage of kindergartners are coming to school at risk for failure.

Children who have been read to regularly in their first five years have shown a superior vocabulary to those that have not had the same exposure entering kindergarten. Educators have emphasized the fact that reading with a preschool child is the single most important activity to prepare them for school. The Dolly Parton Imagination Library was created to guarantee access to books and to inspire parents to read to their children as much as possible.

United Way is working with schools, libraries, public health, day cares, hospitals and so on to continue the enrollment process for children born Jan. 1, 2009 and later. If you would like to enroll your child but have not received information, you can visit our Web site at www.unitedwaymcleodcounty.org to register on-line, or simply contact UWMC at (320) 587-3613.

The Dolly Parton Foundation underwrites the national administrative costs so that expenses to local sponsors such as the UWMC stay minimal. While the UWMC is hosting the DPIL locally, the program is driven by donations from individuals, small businesses, service clubs and corporations. Donations for this specific initiative can be sent to the United Way of McLeod County, 218 Main St. S., Suite 124, P.O. Box 504, Hutchinson, MN 55350. Please denote Imagination Library on the memo line.

This is the fourth in a series of columns written by Paul Thompson during the United Way of McLeod County’s Fall Campaign.