July 8, 2021 – Children in Macon County now have the chance to receive free books every month from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
United Way of Decatur & Mid-Illinois (UWDMI) and the Community Foundation of Macon County (CFMC) have partnered to launch the program, which will be called the Macon County Imagination Library. Decatur Mayor Julie Moore-Wolfe was present to read the classic book ‘The Little Engine That Could’ to children in attendance.
“We are so excited to launch this program for our community,” said UWDMI President Debbie Bogle. “By having books in the home and encouraging adults to read to their kids, we are hoping that when they enter kindergarten, they will be ready to read. This program is perfect for Macon County.”
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL) mails a high-quality, age-appropriate book to registered children from birth until their 5th birthday. A book is delivered – addressed to the child – directly to the family’s door once per month at no cost to the child’s family.
“We want to help support early literacy in our community by getting books into the hands of children who may not have easy access to them,” said Natalie Beck, CEO of The Community Foundation of Macon County. “Research shows that reading to kids has a huge impact on developing language and vocabulary. By age 5, the children of parents who never read to them have heard only about 4,600 words. In contrast, kids who are read to every day have heard almost 300,000 words by that age. We are excited to partner with United Way of Decatur & Mid-Illinois on this powerful literacy program.”
The launch event took place in the Children’s Auditorium at the Decatur Public Library. Each child in attendance received a copy of ‘The Little Engine That Could.’
Registration for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is available here.
