KING WILLIAM — Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a program that provides free books for children, is coming to King William County.
QuickStart Children of Virginia recently announced that the program has become operational in King William County just over a year after it sought partners to expand the initiative to the rural county.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is an international initiative that gets books into the hands of children. It has its roots in the poverty the famous country singer faced while growing up in rural Tennessee.
The book-gifting program began in 1995. Initially, books were only distributed to children living in Sevier County, Tennessee, where Parton grew up, according to the nonprofit’s website. The program now sends out one free book per child every month from birth until the age of 5 to children who are enrolled in the program.
By 2000, the organization was distributing free books globally. By 2003, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library had mailed 1 million books. It now distributes books across the world to countries including Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Nonprofit QuickStart Children of Virginia partnered with the Kiwanis Club of Tri-Rivers to bring the program to King William County. The Kiwanis Club is led by school board member Veda Frazier. About 1,000 children under age 5 are eligible for enrollment.
“I love working with people like Veda,” said QCV founder Lynda Harrill in a news release. “She totally gets why early childhood literacy is so essential to success in school and in life.”
Aqua Virginia, a utilities company that delivers water services to communities, also stepped up to support the program. The first books will be mailed out to young children in King William County in October.
To register, visit imaginationlibrary.com.
David Macaulay, Davidmacaulayva@gmail.com
