HELPS CADDO COUNTY CHILDREN RECEIVE FREE BOOKS

            Anadarko Community Engagement (ACE) is excited to announce the launch of Dolly Parton Imagination Library Program in Caddo County, Oklahoma. ACE invites all to join in the launch of the program at the Anadarko Community Library, 215 W Broadway, Anadarko OK 73005 on Saturday March 9th from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Parents and caregivers of children under five years old who reside in Caddo County can register their child to receive a free book each month through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program during this event or anytime online or by mail.  The free books are offered to all children under five in the county, regardless of family income.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library was launched in 1995 by The Dollywood Foundation, providing free books to children in Parton’s home area of Sevier County, Tennessee.  The goal of the program is to inspire a love of books and reading among children.

Children must be registered by a parent or guardian in order to receive the books.  There is no charge to register or receive the books.  Age-appropriate books are mailed directly to the homes of registered children each month.

            Parents or guardians may register their children on-line by filling out a brief form at www.imaginationlibrary.com.  They also may register by completing a printed registration form available at various public locations, such as public libraries.  Completed paper registration forms may be mailed to the Anadarko Community Library, 215 W Broadway Anadarko 73005.

            Registered children will begin receiving books at their home addresses about eight to 10 weeks after their forms are received.  The first book distributed is always the children’s classic “The Little Engine That Could.”

Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become the preeminent early childhood book-gifting program in the world.  The flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has gifted over 200 million free books in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and The Republic of Ireland.  This is achieved through funding shared by The Dollywood Foundation and local community partners like The Friends of the Anadarko Community Library, AVEM Health Partners, Western Farmers Electric Cooperative, and with matching funding provided by the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE).

The Imagination Library mails more than two million high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to enrolled children from birth to age five.  Parton envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading and inspiring children to “Dream More, Learn More, Care More and Be More.”

The program has been widely researched and results demonstrate its positive impact on early childhood development and literacy skills.  Penguin Random House is the exclusive publisher for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.  For more information, please visit imaginationlibrary.com.