Jackson County is one of 43 Indiana counties participating in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program, which sends more than a million books per month to young children around the world.
Country singer-songwriter Dolly Parton founded the program in 1995 in her home county in Tennessee, and it’s expanded across the U.S. and to four other countries. Jackson County joined the program in early February and serves about 280 children.
Newborns through 5-year-olds can be registered, and they’ll receive one age-appropriate book in the mail every month. It costs about $25 per year, per child.
Pam Kindel works at Schuler-Bauer Real Estate in Seymour. She said the company takes on many outreach initiatives for children, such as addressing child hunger in the community, so the Dolly Parton library felt like a natural fit.
“By the time they run through this program, they’re going to have a nice little library from Dolly Parton,” Kindel said. “We felt like it’s really important to invest in our youth because after all, we’re investing in our future.”
She said she’s excited to help with the program, partly because she grew up listening to Parton’s music and loves “Jolene” and “9 to 5.”
“I love Dolly,” Kindel said. “You learn about all the different charities she does, and it’s just… Wow. She’s definitely a role model of mine.”
To start the program, Kindel’s real estate company partnered with the nonprofit organization Read Jackson County, which promotes literacy through various of its own initiatives. Read Jackson County executive director Anne Staley said she believes the Dolly Parton library will help foster a love of learning in children.
“It’s going to create this idea that reading is important and also create the idea that reading is fun and enjoyable, for pleasure not just at school,” Staley said.
Staley said there’s a link between low literacy and poverty, and being able to read is empowering. By knowing how to read, people can more comfortably do things on their own, such as filling out a job application, registering children for school, getting a loan and even grocery shopping.
“The earlier you get books in the hands of your children, that level of reading will be cemented,” Staley said.
She said the program is a cost-effective way to get kids reading early, and she hopes there will be funding for it for many years to come. Donations can be made on the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library website.
