Georgia Magazine - December 2023 - 23

221.5 million
books gifted to children
globally since inception
23.3 million
books mailed to
U.S. children in 2022
From left, Emmett, Mack and Eleanor
Edlhuber of Cleveland spend time
together reading.
The Clarkesville-based Habersham Electric Membership
Corp. (EMC) Foundation granted Foundational Literacy $2,500
this year as part of its Operation Round Up program to give back
to the community.
" It's been a real successful partnership, " Bialick says. " There
are plenty of good reasons to get engaged with Dolly Parton's
Imagination Library at any level of financial or promotional
assistance. It is an amazing commitment-to-community project,
and I've heard co-ops call it a 'scholarship program for our
youngest members.' "
According to Justin Bray, executive director of Books for
Keeps in Athens, long-term financial support helps sustain the
Imagination Library affiliates and keep the program going.
Books for Keeps helps provide books and literacy resources
to those who may not have access. It sponsors the Imagination
Library program in Clarke County, with an enrollment of 3,000
children.
One of the things that is most important in ensuring that a
kid will read is having the resources at home available, including
books that are relevant, new and interesting enough to the kids,
Bray says.
Getting started
Bray says that raising money for
the Imagination Library can be
challenging.
" It's one of the hardest things for us
because most people assume [the cost] is taken care of, "
he says. " And [it's difficult] for most affiliates that buy into the
program across the country and internationally. "
Not every Georgia community is involved with the Imagination
Library yet, but forming an affiliate is easy, says Kevin
Tomlinson of Echols County on the Georgia-Florida border.
Learn more
For more information about Dolly Parton's
Imagination Library, visit imaginationlibrary.com.
To see if your area has a program, visit
imaginationlibrary.com/usa/fi nd-my-program.
Tomlinson discovered the program five years ago, and
because his county didn't have an affiliate, he and his wife,
Chelsea, started one. Little Readers of South Georgia supports
100 children monthly, with the Tomlinsons donating most of
the funding.
The babies who began receiving books five years ago
are now in kindergarten. Tomlinson says he is interested in
knowing if the Imagination Library is making an educational
difference in his county of 4,000 people.
" It's a very worthwhile organization, and I'd encourage
other smaller communities that want to be involved. It's not
that difficult to get it started, " Tomlinson says.
At the beginning, the Tomlinsons spread the word
through churches, social media and the local school system,
figuring younger siblings might be eligible. They also printed
English and Spanish brochures and enrollment forms and
placed them at the library, health center, local stores and
other places where people gather.
" In a community as small as ours, word spread, " he
says. " One hurdle to enrolling that we ran into over and over
was with people who believed their income was too high to
qualify. There are no income requirements for the program.
We want to encourage children of all socioeconomic
backgrounds to read. "
Laura Berrios is a freelance writer based in
Alpharetta.
www.georgiamagazine.org
23
FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY
http://www.imaginationlibrary.com http://imaginationlibrary.com/usa/find-my-program http://www.georgiamagazine.org
Georgia Magazine - December 2023

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