MAY 5, 2023:
The Capital Area United Way is encouraging parents of children under the age of five living in eight counties in central South Dakota to enroll their kids in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
CAUW Executive Director Holly Wade says the book gifting program is free to all enrollees, thanks to local sponsors. In November, CAUW expanded the program beyond Hughes and Stanley counties to also include Hyde, Sully, Haakan, Lyman, Dewey and Potter counties.
Studies have shown that babies who are read to at a young age tend to score higher in language skills and problem solving. Reading to children– of any age– helps brain development and the developing of longer attention spans.
To enroll a child, fill out the online form at https://capareaunitedway.org/imaginationlibrary. For additional information, call Holly Wade at 605-224-9229 or email director@capareaunitedway.org.
Dolly Parton created Imagination Library in 1995 as a tribute to her father, whose inability to read probably kept him from seeing all of his dreams come true. Inspiring kids to love reading became her mission. In the beginning, Dolly simply wanted to encourage reading for the kids in Sevier County, Tennessee, where she grew up. Now, 25 years later, Imagination Library has not only expanded across the United States, but around the world, sending over a million books a month to children. Kids are eligible until their fifth birthday.
Capital Area United Way has been an affiliate for Imagination Library since 1996.
NOVEMBER 11, 2022:
Capital Area United Way is adding six counties to its Imagination Library eligibility area.
It’s already available to children under the age of 5 years in Hughes and Stanley counties and now those in Hyde, Sully, Haakan, Lyman, Dewey and Potter counties also have access to the books.
CAUW Executive Director Holly Wade says getting books into the hands of small children has been greatly researched. She says we know that if kids are read to while preschool age, their language skills, comprehension and overall academic success is positively impacted.
Children up to the age of five can be enrolled to receive an age appropriate book in the mail each month. To enroll a child, fill out the online form at https://capareaunitedway.org/imaginationlibrary.
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, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has gifted nearly 200 million free books in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and The Republic of Ireland. The Imagination Library mails more than two-million high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to enrolled children from birth to age five. Parton envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading and inspiring children to dream more, learn more, care more and be more.
Capital Area United Way has been an affiliate for Imagination Library since 1996.
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