The Friends of the Lisbon Public Library are expanding their Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library affiliation to encompass Mount Vernon. This will be the first year Mount Vernon children are eligible to participate in the local program serving about 70% of Lisbon’s eligible children since its inception three years ago.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL), the preeminent early childhood book gifting program globally, has distributed over 200 million free books. This initiative, led by The Dollywood Foundation, aims to foster a lifelong love of reading and inspire children to Dream More, Learn More, Care More, and Be More®.
DPIL is free to any child from birth to age five. Registering is easy. Parents can register their child/children online at bit.ly/DPIL-LMV or utilize the QR code attached to this article. When using the QR code, please register children to receive books at their home address. Parents can also complete an enrollment form at the Lisbon Public or Mount Vernon Cole libraries. The group is working to make enrollment cards available at local businesses.
Michelle Platt, president of the Friends of the Lisbon Public Library, said the group signed up their first child from Mount Vernon at the end of February and are now rolling out a variety of easy enrollment options.
“We have the goal of enrolling one-third of eligible children in Mount Vernon in the first few months,” Platt said.
For Platt and the Friends of the Lisbon Public Library, the goal is to help benefit literacy of children in the communities of Mount Vernon and Lisbon.
“Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library helps establish a love of books in our youngest community members,” said Amy White, recently retired Lisbon Library Director. “Seeing the joy these monthly gifts bring to their children is a gift to their caregivers and families. Our hope in providing funding for this outreach program is to nurture a love of books and to create a connection between families and their public library as a happy, welcoming place in their busy lives.”
It’s never too early to start reading to your baby. Research shows that children who participate in this program increase early literacy skills and are better prepared for kindergarten.
The group is working again from scratch to help build Mount Vernon program recipients and to achieve financial support. With a cost of $26 per child, this amounts to an estimated $2,600 to cover the first year’s program costs of providing books to Mount Vernon children between the ages of infant to 5-years-old.
A number of Mount Vernon residents will help spearhead the enrollment and fundraising required to support the program expansion into Mount Vernon. Platt said that the Friends of the Lisbon Library group work hard to get the word out to seek donations.
“We have had good buy-in from both Mount Vernon and Lisbon businesses for the program over the past few years,” Platt said. “We do think we will get good support for this program expansion. We will be operating this program as a community effort to make sure children in both towns are supported by donations to receive books monthly. We already have our first Mt. Vernon sponsor.”
A decision by the Friends to expand Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library into Mount Vernon was a result of the $1,000 seed money donation from Bauman’s.
“Josh and I have children and know the importance of literature for young people,” said Olivia Randall, co-owner of Bauman & Company on why they wanted to support the program. “We think all kids in our community should have the opportunities to increase their love of reading.”
Lisbon Public Library’s new director, Elizabeth Hoover de Galvez, shared “I am so grateful for the Friends of the Lisbon Public Library for coordinating this effort and for all of the individuals and businesses who have donated to make Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library available to everyone in the community.”
Those who want to financially support Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program with one-time, individual or recurring corporate match, estate or trust giving can donate at bit.ly/DONATE-DPIL-LMV (PayPal), link directly to the Library’s website which is bit.ly/LisbonLibraryFriends or mail a check to the Friends, in care of Lisbon Public Library, P.O. Box 217, Lisbon, Iowa 52253. Please specify “DPIL” in the memo line of the check.
Dolly Parton visits Bauman and Company in uptown Mount Vernon. Josh and Olivia Randall, owners of Bauman’s, are the seed donors for the expansion of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to Mount Vernon children.