The United Way of Southeast Mississippi will be able to provide 334 Lamar County children with books over the course of the next two years, courtesy of a recent $20,000 donation from the Lamar County School District that will go toward the Dolly Parton Imagination Library reading program.
The nationwide program, which is hosted by local organizations and schools, provides one age-appropriate book each month to children who are enrolled in the initiative. The cost-free program is available for children from birth until they turn 5 years old.
“We wouldn’t be able to (provide that many books in that manner), especially for that amount of money, but United Way can, because they have that mechanism set up,” said Lamar County School District superintendent Tess Smith, who recently presented a check for the funds at Oak Grove Primary School. “They pre-select those books, they mail them directly to the home of the child. We’re very excited about the possibility of putting that many books in the hands of young children.”
The school district’s donation is made possible by donors who participated in the Early Learning Collaborative tax credit, which supports Pre-K programs in local classrooms.
“This is money that is donated for us to put toward things like this – we did not use tax dollars for this,” Smith said. “We are re-donating donated funds that we received to be able to use for things like this.”
The Dolly Parton Imagination Library was launched in 1995 in Sevier County, Tennessee, before becoming national in 2000. Three years after that, one million books had been distributed through the program.
Today, the program boasts a registry of more than 1.5 million children and has mailed more than 133 million books to kids.
“We are thrilled to serve as the host of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in Hattiesburg,” said Tracie Fowler, president and CEO of United Way of Southeast Mississippi. “Research shows that the most successful way to improve reading achievement is to increase a child’s access to books.”
This year marks the first time the Lamar County School District has participated in the program.
“Our goal is (bettering) early education, and the sooner you can start the better – we’re even looking at younger than Pre-K,” Smith said.
Any individuals interested in supporting the cause can sponsor a child for $30 a month in any part of United Way of Southeast Mississippi’s service area, which includes Forrest, Lamar, Marion and Perry counties. In addition, tickets will soon be on sale for the United Way’s 80th anniversary on April 30, from which all proceeds will go to Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
