Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Reveals New Website

New Online Features Promise Better Service For All

PIGEON FORGE, TN – We here at Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is excited to announce the launch of our brand new website. Recent additions have improved our registration process, spotlight affiliate successes, and enabled sharing of Imagination Library news across social networks with just one click.

Due to a growing number of requests to replicate Dolly Parton's the Imagination Library program in new communities, the “Start A Program” form was introduced to help get the process rolling. From there, view informational videos, download helpful documents and presentations built to help with each step of the replication process. For example, potential new champions are automatically assigned a Regional Director to help them each step of the way. 

In addition, the state of the art “Cost Estimator Tool” combines census data, custom Google Maps, and an algorithm that instantly calculates the estimated cost of program launch with a 5-year projected cost based on program growth. Starting a program has never been this easy!

The online registration rates for the Imagination Library doubled in 2011 alone! 

With such a large number, a new and improved online registration system has been designed to increase that amount once again for 2012. To do that, we have cut registration time in half and implemented more user friendly means of producing more accurate data. Now, before parents submit their child’s information, the system checks for: duplicate information, eligibility, and a verified address to ensure book delivery. To make it even better, we will be rolling this feature out for Canada and the United Kingdom very soon!

A brand new Champion Spotlight was created to bring attention to those working hard for their community. In this section, visitors can read of successes, find contact information, use an interactive map, and meet the Regional Director for their area.

A “Chalkboard Ticker” has been installed on the site’s homepage so that viewers can be updated in real-time to know how many children are registered in each country. Users can also get rid of any language barrier with a Google Translate feature that translates nearly any language to another. Finally, a Tool Bar has been added to the bottom of the page that makes following the Imagination Library’s social networks easy (the Tool Bar is still in BETA testing and currently available in the U.S. only).

S.D. Professionals, the website designers and developers, have been Imagination Library partners for more than ten years. They began transforming the program in 2005 with the introduction of an online book ordering system. The new system allowed for the Imagination Library’s international expansion into Canada and the United Kingdom, as well as accommodating more than 700,000 book orders each month.

To see the new site and browse around, visit imaginationlibrary.com.

For more technical information regarding our new features, checkout SD Professionals blog. 

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MORE Moments inspired by Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

When my husband was deployed to Iraq, our youngest son and I would read each day as something to pass the time and kind of distract us from watching the news or thinking about missing his Daddy quite as much.

I would let him choose books and they were usually ones he received from Dolly, as he would put it.

He loved the Max and Ruby books and it was part of our daily routine he and I enjoyed so much. He grew to love reading on his own and I attribute a lot of that to our reading time during that period in our lives when the books he loved from the Dolly Parton's Imagination Library were so important in our routine.

His enjoyment of reading lead him to the story of the Titanic, and in Third Grade he was chosen to take part in the Sevier County Young Authors Conference, he decided to write his book about the Titanic and facts he thought other children would enjoy.

One day while we were at the Museum unable to go in because they were sold out, he pulled his book out and began reading facts he had written to my Aunt who was visiting.

One of the Crew Members noticed him and asked to see his book, then told him he needed to meet someone. He introduced Luke to Mrs Mary Kellog Joslin who asked Luke if she could have his book published to sell in the Titanic Museum, he was 8 years old when he wrote and illustrated his first book.

This chance meeting has been one of the greatest blessings in our lives, and we know that it all started with his reading along with me from the Bible and the books he loves from Dolly’s Imagination Library.

More great news for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

Check out the latest web postings here:

1. Click'N'Roll reports news of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library coming to Scotland
2. Nice posting onMommy Confessions Blog
3. Crossville Chronicle breaks news of an Imagination Library Celebration

Do you have an awesome story to share about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library? We would love to hear all about it. Join the conversation on our Facebook Discussions Board!

Memphis Daily News story by Aisling Maki

Before an audience of fresh-faced young children, nonprofit leaders and elected officials at the Urban Child Institute in Memphis Tuesday, United Healthcare Community Plan CEO Scott Bowers presented the Governor’s Book from Birth Foundation with an oversized check symbolizing his company’s $250,000 pledge to support early childhood reading.

Read Full Story>>>>

By Aisling Maki

TheSunNews.com: Building a Strong Foundation

Twelve percent of adults in Horry County lack basic literacy skills. That's about 20,000 adults in the county who fall into this category of just barely literate, lacking the ability to complete even simple, everyday reading tasks. And it's just that fate that First Book of Horry County hopes to help children avoid.
More than 60 percent of low-income families have no books in their home for children, and First Book combats that statistic by providing free books to children so that they can begin their own library. Numerous studies have looked at the strong link between reading levels and book ownership. An analysis released in June synthesized the results of 108 studies on the subject and determined that simply owning books and having them available increases children's language skills, reading ability, literacy skills and causes increased reading.
To that end, First Book is accepting grant applications until the end of February from nonprofits that serve children. Grant coordinator Margene Willis said the group is looking to partner with those nonprofits to give 250 children a book each month for six months, or 1,500 books in all. More than 40,000 books have already been given to local children, and we hope that number will continue to grow by leaps and bounds.


Read more: http://www.thesunnews.com/2011/02/01/1954847/building-a-strong-foundation.html

Legendary Entertainers Join 2011 Fundraising Campaign!

For the eighth consecutive year, the nationwide network of Paul Mitchell beauty schools will spend the months of February through April raising money for charitable organizations. In 2010, the schools raised an all-time high of $1.2 million, bringing their seven-year total to over $4.6 million.

This year they plan to raise $1.5 million for seven organizations: Leeza Gibbons Memory Foundation, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, Andrew Gomez Dream Foundation, Food 4 Africa, Fran Drescher’s Cancer Schmancer Foundation, and newcomers Morris Animal Foundation, represented by Betty White, and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

“We’re so excited to welcome Betty White and Dolly Parton this year, and we’re thrilled to welcome Leeza Gibbons, Donny and Marie Osmond, and Fran Drescher back again,” said Paul Mitchell Schools Dean and Cofounder Winn Claybaugh. “All of these incredible superstar celebrities will play an active role in motivating and encouraging our 12,000 future professionals as they take part in thousands of grassroots ‘FUNraisers,’ from cut-a-thons and car washes to fashion shows and charity balls. They’ve also joined an elite group of wonderful celebrities who’ve supported us in the past, including Larry King and Vidal Sassoon.”

CLICK HERE for a special message from Dolly Parton!

Contest Winners Announced!

Another exciting Baby Photo Contest on Facebook has taken place and the winners have been posted! Dolly Parton's Imagination Library would like to send our congratulations and sincere thanks to all for entering and everyone who voted.

Here's what we ended up with:

Nearly 2,300 entries,
Nearly 100,000 daily votes,
Over 2.4 Million total views, and
More donations generated than any other time in the history of the online merchandise center.

The photo submitted by Bevin Meadows had the most votes, and is the first place WINNER!

Baby Photo Contest on Facebook!

Another exciting contest is under way for all Facebook fans of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dolly-Partons-Imagination-Library/244765928953

PHASE ONE:
Submit a photo of your baby between now and December 19th. The selected photo can be of your child or children. Tell your friends and family all about it so they too can vote for your photo!

PHASE TWO:
Members of Facebook vote on their favorite photo. It is possible to vote for up to 20 entries per day. Voting continues until December 19th.

PHASE THREE:
Winners are announced on December 19th! A Gift Certificate along with a set of 60 Imagination Library Books will be awarded to the photo with the most votes as the Grand Prize Winner! Similar prizes will be awarded to the top 5 photos entered.

Gift Certificates can be used to shop online at http://dollysimaginationlibrary.com/store/home.php

The Book Lady of Sevier County!

Dolly Parton is almost universally adored, not just for her songs but for her sunny, shiny, sweeter-than-sweet-tea persona, her gusto, and her wit. It’s virtually impossible to name another member of Music City royalty who can claim a following of such diversity.

But even Parton’s biggest fans may be unaware of her less flashy role as “The Book Lady”—a nearly magical figure who leaves books in the mailboxes of boys and girls everywhere. At least that’s the way some children have come to think of Dolly, thanks to her groundbreaking program, the Imagination Library, which distributes free books, one per month, to children from birth to age five in more than a thousand communities across the country. The books vary from year to year, but there are a number of staples, including The Little Engine That Could, a classic that’s become an iconic title for the program.


Parton recently spoke with Chapter 16 about the role books played in her childhood, her hopes for the Imagination Library’s future, and more.


Read the entire interview here: http://www.chapter16.org/content/book-lady-sevier-county

IMAGINATION LIBRARY GIVEAWAY!

During the last 6 days, photos and videos of our Imagination Library friends and their children were posted on Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Facebook wall.

At the end of the day on Sunday, November 14, 2010 at 5:00pm Eastern, the top 4 photos with the most "Likes" as votes, each won a set of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Book Ends.

In under one week, over two hundred images were submitted for the "We want to see your baby!" Bookend Giveaway Contest. Here are the finalists:

Turner Addison Morris in 4th place.

Bella Johnston in 3rd place.

Shayden & Sawyer Prowant in 2nd place and...

Laia Juliana Hughes, with the most votes, is the first place WINNER!

Congratulations to all who played and stay tuned for the next giveaway that will take place between November 26th and December 19th 2010. Complete details of a second chance to win, will be released soon, just in time for the holiday season!!

First Tennessee Foundation joins communitywide push to get books to children!

As a grandfather, Charles Burkett understands not only the joy experienced from reading to a child but also the value in it.

"When she was younger, I know how much (my granddaughter) enjoyed hearing me read to her," said Burkett, 59, of Memphis. "It's important for children to read during early development before they start school, and the only way is with a parent or a guardian working with them."

When First Tennessee's president of banking learned about then-Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton's efforts to bring the statewide Governor's Books from Birth program to the area, he immediately jumped on board.

"From the first time I heard the story of what Books from Birth was all about, to somehow help preschool children with their reading by providing a book to them each month, I don't know how you don't like a program like it," said Burkett, board member of the First Tennessee Foundation.
The Governor's Books from Birth program works with the national Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to provide one free hardcover, age-appropriate book a month through the mail to every child up to the age of 5 who registers with the program regardless of income.

With seed funding from the First Tennessee Foundation totaling $100,000, as well as other donations, the organization added Shelby County to its roster of participants in 2005. So far, the local arm of the program has provided more than 32,000 books to children, and serves 47 percent of qualifying children in the area.

"We have one of the largest Books from Birth programs in the country," said Nora Capwell, executive director of Shelby County Books from Birth.

Every county in the state participates in the Governor's Books from Birth, with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library spreading across the U.S. and into Canada and the United Kingdom. Working with a skeleton staff of two employees and close to 30 volunteers, SCBFB works with hospitals, schools, day cares and churches to sign up children for the program.

"We've done a really great job with outreach in the last five years. People know us, know about us, and will call us wanting books. It's a good problem to have," said Capwell, 41, of Memphis.
Through various fund-raising efforts, SCBFB pays half the $28-per-child annual cost of delivering a book every month to each child.

Books are chosen by a panel of early education experts and are purchased from Penguin Publications. Every book is wrapped with the child's name on it.

In addition to the First Tennessee Foundation's seed funding, the organization also participated in SCBFB's 2010 fundraiser, Tables of Content, held at the Botanic Gardens in January, as the title sponsor.

"The more kids we register the greater the need we have for funding," Capwell said.
Other sponsors include the Plough Foundation, the Hyde Foundation, Gerber/Taylor Associates, the Urban Child Institute and the John Dustin Buckman Charitable Trust. Capwell hopes to have every eligible child in the county registered eventually. To Burkett, it's a no-brainer.

"For a child to go to kindergarten, to start school and already have an advantage in starting off on the right foot, that's good for everyone," he said.

For more information about, to make a donation to, or to volunteer for Shelby County Books from Birth, go to www.booksfrombirth.org or call 865-820-4501.

Imagination Library Fifth Anniversary Celebration

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library will be celebrating their Fifth Anniversary this Saturday, November 6th, at 10:00 am in South East Tennessee.

All children and their parents who are eligible or who have ever participated in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program by receiving books are invited to the fifth anniversary celebration at the Blount County Public Library along with their parents. Hosted by the Maryville Kiwanis Club, the ceremony will recognize five of the first enrollees in Blount County as well as several newborns whose parents have just enrolled them in the program.

Free refreshments will be available. The program will be held in the Reading Rotunda of the library.

For more information, visit www.blountlibrary.org or call (865) 982-0981.

Dolly Parton Imagination Library moves to ECU!

The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is changing hosts in Oklahoma. Previously managed through Ada Regional United Way, the early childhood literacy program is now based at Smart Start South Central, an early childhood initiative housed in East Central University’s Center for Continuing Education and Community Services.

“The Dolly Parton Imagination Library program itself is exactly what it always has been: a program that provides one free book a month to any child under the age of 5 who lives in Pontotoc County. The only change is that Smart Start South Central has taken over the administrative tasks of the program,” said Trish Little, community coordinator.

“The DPIL program is alive and well in Pontotoc County, and will continue to provide books to children 5 and under as long as funding will support it, she said.”

New brochures will be available soon for parents who would like to sign up their child for the program. For more information about this or any other programs that Smart Start South Central sponsors, phone Little at 580-559-5367, or email plittle@ecok.edu.

Dolly Parton Imagination Library is a collaborative effort between Smart Start South Central and the Chickasaw Nation.

Israel Launches Major Literacy Drive for Preschoolers!

The government of Israel and a North American foundation are partnering on a literacy program for Israeli pre-schoolers.

Israel’s government will invest $500,000 to bring to Israel the Harold Grinspoon Foundation’s PJ Library, which in the U.S. gives to more than 100,000 Jewish children free books with Jewish content.

The program has existed in Israel on a small scale, but the government’s boost will help the give free books each month to some 40,000 underserved children. Sifriyat Pijama, as it is known in Hebrew, will distribute books through Israel's schools.

The PJ Library was founded in 2005 in the model of Imagination Library, a program developed by Dolly Parton to increase literacy among financially disadvantaged youth. In North America, The PJ Library partners with Federations and Jewish Community Centers to primarily provide books to the homes of Jewish children without consideration of financial need. The idea of The PJ Library is to engage children and their families in the Jewish culture and traditions by providing books and CDs as gifts sent directly to their homes.

Sifriyat Pijama is different in that the books are being distributed through the schools and will go to children whose families have reduced or restricted financial means. The program in Israel combines the goals of The PJ Library and Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.

“It is exciting for us to see that the Israeli Ministry of Education finds the Sifriyat Pijama program worthy of such a large investment,” says Joanna S. Ballantine, executive director of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.

"Be the change you want to see!"

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in Lincoln County presents a 5K trail run and 1 mile walk starting at 8:00am on Saturday morning, October 23rd, 2010. The event will take place at Don Davidson Park in Fayetteville, Tennessee for different age groups.

Organized by Trails for Kids, a group that built 3 miles of mountain biking and hiking trails in 2009, this is an exciting fundraising event for all families in the area. Registration closes October 9th, and the first 150 pre-registered entrants are guaranteed a t-shirt.

Awards will be presented to the top three runners by gender and age groups. Fun run/walk participants will all receive a finisher’s ribbon.

For more information, contact Helen Fussell at 931-580-3081.

"Be the change you want to see!"

Power Of The Purse Luncheon, Auction Set

Area women can indulge in their love of the handbag while helping raise money to provide books for preschoolers during the fifth annual Power of the Purse luncheon and auction next month.

Slated from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at the Holiday Inn City Center, 700 Rogers Ave., the event brings women from all over the area to chat, enjoy lunch and bid on an assortment of purses, according to Angie Ruth, director of finance and administration for the United Way of Fort Smith Area. More than 40 purses will be offered at a silent auction.

Proceeds benefit the UW's early literacy initiative, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which provides books for more than 1,660 children in the area, Ruth explained. Children from birth to 5 years old in Crawford, Franklin, Logan and Sebastian counties are mailed a hard-bound, age-appropriate book each month through the initiative. It costs an average of $30 per child to provide 12 books to them for a year, Ruth added.

Read full story here >>>

Imagination Library leaders at Oak Grove Elementary!

Preschoolers were scheduled for a treat on Wednesday at Oak Grove Elementary School with leaders of the Marshall County Imagination Library after Gov. Phil Bredesen had proclaimed September 19-25 as Imagination Library Week.

While Gov. Bredesen read stories to Pre-K students at Crockett Elementary School in Brentwood, Marshall County Imagination Library spokeswoman Peggy Hubbard said she'd be doing the same thing at Oak Grove on Franklin Road.

"We are celebrating with the Pre-K classes at Oak Grove," Hubbard said. "We will donate some books and read while there."

Created in 1996 by Dolly Parton as a gift to children in her hometown, Sevierville, the Imagination Library mails a new, age-appropriate book every month to registered children, from birth until age five -- at no cost to the family. Supporters provide $24 annually for the purchase and delivery of 12 books to one child. That cost is split evenly between a non-profit sponsoring organization in every Tennessee county and a state budgetary allocation administered by the Governor's Books from Birth Foundation.

"Our local Marshall County Imagination Library began in 2005," Hubbard said. "We currently have about 1,000 children enrolled. That means 1,000 books go out each month to Marshall County children. A staggering 42,000 books have been delivered to our children in Marshall County since the program's inception."

Sponsored by Nissan, the state's participation -- with local sponsorships from individuals, their service clubs and businesses -- with the organization founded by Dolly Parton this week celebrates 215,000 children receiving free books and more than 10 million books delivered.

Bredesen said, "The program has changed lives by providing them with tools to create a lifetime of learning, developing their vocabulary and school readiness. Our goal is for every child not currently enrolled to have their own library of books so that they can join the thousands of others who are growing and benefiting from this program."

Modbee.com: Turlock children receive free books

TURLOCK -- Gavin Garner is only 2½ years old, but when his book arrives each month, he eagerly picks out each letter of his name on the cover -- "G-A-V-I-N."

Gavin participates in the ABC Project, a free program that sends books to any Turlock resident younger than 5.

"If I got enough money, I'd love to open it up to any child in Stanislaus County," said director Susan Neufeld, an education professor at California State University, Stanislaus. As it is, money coming in from Arnold has her planning to expand the program into that area early next year.

Read full story here >>>

NWTN Today: Books open up a new world for Obion County’s youth

Imagine a home where a child’s proudest possession — sometimes her only possession — is a book.

Dolly Parton could imagine it because her own Smoky Mountain childhood was marked by significant material deprivation.

Teachers and child care workers can imagine it because as they visit the homes of little ones, they too often encounter just such situations, even here in Obion County.

Dolly and her army of volunteers in the Imagination Library program she initiated in 1996 cannot provide for every need in a child’s life, but they know from experience they can open the door to a much wider world than some children would otherwise encounter. And for every child, regardless of income level or circumstance of birth, they can nudge that inborn desire to learn and try to nurture that special bond that develops between an adult who reads aloud and a child who hears the words, sees the pictures and snuggles in the arms that hold the book.

As Tennessee celebrates 2010 Imagination Library Week through Saturday, a variety of programs are planned.

Locally, mayors of each Obion County community were given the opportunity to sign special proclamations recognizing the importance of reading aloud to infants and preschoolers and the value of providing these children their own specially-selected books through Dolly’s Imagination Library program and its area affiliate, Obion County Reading Railroad. These proclamations are now on display at each city hall.

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WSMV: Gov. Phil Bredesen & Kids Celebrate Imagination Library Week

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Several students brought out the governor's creative side Wednesday. Pre-Kingergarten students at Crockett Elementary in Brentwood gave the governor a poster of their colorful handprints.

Gov. Phil Bredesen was at the school to celebrate the 2010 Imagination Library Week, which is Sept. 19-25. Dolly Parton created the program, which mails free books to children from birth to age 5, in 1996.

Six years ago, the governor created his Books From Birth Foundation to support Imagination Library. On Wednesday, he called that move a no-brainer.

"Kids are excited about getting the books in the mail," said Bredesen. "If there's some of them who it touches that might not have books in the home otherwise, perhaps it'll help them in school. But I love the program."

The governor said he especially loves that the program isn't based in Nashville but in the communities, which have stepped up and ensured its success.

More than 10 million free books have been delivered to kids through the program, which serves 215,000 children.

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