DENVER- Governor Jared Polis, Education Commissioner Katy Anthes and the Imagination Library of Colorado is joining American icon Dolly Parton to announce the Colorado statewide expansion of her Imagination Library book-gifting program.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is an organization dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by gifting books to children from newborn to age five for free, thanks to state and local community-partnered funding.
“I’m so excited to be working with Governor Polis, the Department of Education, and our Colorado affiliate organization to bring my Imagination Library to more children and families across Colorado! Together we can gift a love of reading that will last a lifetime,” said Parton.
The goal of the expansion is to make books available to children in every zip code in Colorado. The state has 30 programs covering only portions of its 64 counties. Currently, 4% of eligible children in the state are receiving books through existing community-based programs.
“Ensuring that students are reading at grade level by third grade is one of our most important priorities here at the Department of Education,” said Colorado Education Commissioner Katy Anthes. “It will be so exciting for children and families to get a book delivered to their home every month, and we know it will help children develop a lifelong love of reading and set them up for success in school. We are so grateful to the partners who are expanding the Imagination Library program statewide, including the governor, the state legislature, the State Board of Education and of course, The Dollywood Foundation.”
In year one of the expansion, the Imagination Library of Colorado will:
- Work with community organizations who will promote the program online and at in-person events, fundraise and enroll children who live within their area. A local program partner must be a 501(c)(3), although several organizations may form a coalition.
- Assist with program start-up and enrollment strategies.
- Build and sustain strong statewide partnerships to assure long-term sustainability.
We are grateful for the strong bipartisan effort to ensure that all children in Colorado, from ages zero to five, will have the opportunity to enhance and enrich their lives with books from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library,” said Jack Tate, CEO of the Imagination Library of Colorado.
Coloradans can learn more about the Colorado program and monitor its progress by visiting https://www.imaginationlibrarycolorado.org.