$150,000 Community Foundation Grant Brings Dolly Parton's Books

Register your child here for free books!

And learn more in the video below!

Every child in Middletown will soon be eligible to receive a free book each month thanks to a $150,000 commitment from the Middletown Community Foundation in partnership with entertainer Dolly Parton and several local organizations.

The early childhood literacy project will provide one free, age-appropriate, hardcover, expert-selected book every month for any child birth to age 5 living within the Middletown City School District who registers.

A celebration to kick off the program, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, will begin at 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 17, in the lobby of the Middletown Public Library. Registration forms will be available at the event and throughout the day for parents to enroll. Refreshments, local “celebrity” story readers and more will be offered.

Parton said she was thrilled to learn that Middletown has joined her program, which is nearing 1,000 participating communities across two continents.

“I never in my wildest dreams thought my little program would reach so many people,” she said. “Of course, none of this would have been possible without the kind and generous folks at the Middletown Community Foundation so I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart.”

Middletown Community Foundation Executive Director T. Duane Gordon explained that the project was a natural fit for the organization.

“At the Middletown Community Foundation, we believe every community requires a strong foundation,” he said. “But we also understand that every life requires a strong foundation, and the basis of that foundation is the ability to read. We look for the Imagination Library, and the many community partnerships it is providing us, to give our community’s children the gift of reading.”

More than 40 percent of Middletown ’s entering kindergarteners score in the lowest band of the state’s kindergarten literacy exam, indicating they are not prepared for school. Of the school districts and independent schools statewide for which the Department of Education reported scores last year, only 5 percent had a larger percentage of students in that bottom tier. The average score for a Middletown student was 16.49 out of 29 possible points, with only 7 percent of districts and independent schools in the state scoring a lower average.

Parton created the Imagination Library in 1995 through the Dollywood Foundation in her native Appalachian region of east Tennessee, spreading it to other communities in 2000. Her foundation covers the administrative expenses of running the program nationwide, while local sponsors pay for the cost of book purchases and shipping, averaging about $28 per child annually.

Today, it ships more than more than 5.5 million books to children each year in 950 individual communities across 47 states and the District of Columbia as well as seven Canadian provinces and a handful of locations in the United Kingdom. Since inception, it has provided more than 16 million books to children.

Research has shown that the first five years of life, and especially the first three years, are the most important in cognitive development due to rapid brain growth taking place, explained Dollywood Foundation President David Dotson, and Parton’s program directs its focus to educating children at this most crucial of times.

“Dolly has always said that if we ever want a child to think that books are special then the books must make the child feel special.” he said.

Other places have seen great success with the program, he added. A 2003 analysis in three communities around the country found 82 percent of children in the program were more interested in books than before enrolling, more than 50 percent of parents felt more comfortable reading with their children and 67 percent read to their children more often.

That study also found that the program served as the primary source of books in the homes of more than half of families where parents lacked a high school diploma and nearly a quarter of homes where parents held college degrees.

A 2008 review by the Tennessee Board of Regents found that 64 percent of preschool teachers reported Imagination Library students performed better than expected when compared to previous classes, versus just 11 percent who reported students who had not participated in the program as performing better than expected.

Gordon said it was understood early on that this endeavor would require more than just handing books to children, so the Middletown Community Foundation reached out to others in the community for a more comprehensive effort.

The cornerstone of these partnerships is involvement of the United Way of Greater Cincinnati’s Middletown division and the Middletown Public Library. As part of its Success by Six initiative, the United Way has agreed to fund Reading Readiness Centers at each of the Library’s three branches. The partnership will also allow the Library to develop materials to help educate parents receiving the books on how to best use them with their children. Additional involvement with the Library’s Children’s Department is also being finalized.

Middletown Public Library Director Doug Bean said the program complements the Library’s early childhood outreach efforts.

“I applaud the Middletown Community Foundation for taking on the challenge to foster reading in the home,” he added. “It's never too early for parents to nurture the reading skills that children need to succeed in school and in life.  The Foundation may count on the Library to help.”

Jessica Chamberlain, Middletown Public Library children's team leader, echoed his sentiment.

“As children's librarians, we are thrilled that the Middletown Community Foundation has taken on this project,” she said. “Getting books into the hands of children, even very young children, is one of the most important things we can do to help them succeed in school. This is such a gift to the children of our community.”

Mike Sanders, Director, United Way of Greater Cincinnati – Middletown Area, said the Imagination Library’s focus mirrors that of his organization’s efforts to prepare children to enter school.

“As United Way works every day to advance the common good, our top priority area includes ensuring children enter school ready to learn. This program, which puts books into the hands of very young children and works with parents on how best to engage with their children, can help prepare Middletown youth for success in school and life,” he explained.

The Middletown Community Foundation has committed $150,000 in funding over five years for the program. If projected enrollment figures keep pace with what has been seen in other communities, Gordon noted, that will provide approximately 70-75 percent of the cost of the project during that period.

The Miriam G. Knoll Foundation, Middletown Rotary Foundation, Kiwanis International of Middletown, Arthur Harvey Foundation and the Barnitz Fund of JPMorgan Chase also contributed initial funding for the effort, Gordon said. The Kiwanis Club has also committed a volunteer base to assist in registration form distribution, data entry of the names of registrants and expanding reading programs for area children, an outgrowth of its existing reading partnership with local Head Start programs.

Other non-financial partners include Atrium Medical Center, which will distribute registration forms to new mothers who give birth at the hospital; the Middletown City School District, which will help spread the word to parents who may have younger children at home; TV Middletown, which will produce a public service announcement for the program; and the Middletown Post Office, which will deliver the books directly to the children’s homes. Additional partnerships with other organizations are under discussion, Gordon noted.

Those seeking more information on Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Middletown may contact the Middletown Community Foundation at 513-424-7369, and those who wish to make contributions to support the program, payable to the Middletown Community Foundation, may mail them to 300 North Main Street, Suite 300, Middletown, OH 45042.

Registration brochures are available around the city. Children must be under the age of 5 and reside within the borders of the Middletown City School District to qualify. You may also register online here.

For more information on Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, visit its website here.

Watch Maria Langendorf's "8 Minutes In Middletown" interview with Middletown Community Foundation Executive Director T. Duane Gordon about the program in the player below. Courtesy TV Middletown.