Fredericksburg Parent

24 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • May 2024 Dolly Parton's inspiration for the Imagination Library was her father, Robert Lee Parton, Sr., who never attended school or learned how to read. He played a big role in the organization from its founding in 1995 to his death in 2000. "If I'm remembered 100 years from now, I hope it will be not for looks but for books," says Dolly Parton. The goal of the Fredericksburg Area Dolly Parton Imagination Library (DPIL), which is housed by Fredericksburg Parent Gives, the nonprofit arm of Fredericksburg Parent & Family magazine, is to encourage early literacy skills by mailing a high-quality book monthly to the home of any child between the ages of zero to five. It's a critical program to ensure that every child is ready for kindergarten and to improve third grade reading scores in area schools. Publisher of Fredericksburg Parent & Family magazine Leigh Anne Van Doren chose the project to help support families who were quarantined during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Fredericksburg Area Imagination Library currently serves 1,800 families in Stafford (except for the 22405 zip code) and King George counties and the City of Fredericksburg. The program is generously funded by the the Northern Neck Electric Cooperative (NNEC), which gives $10,000 per year; the rest is pro- vided by a matching grant from the state of Virginia, Fredericksburg Parent Gives and the Rappahannock Rotary Club. The Northern Neck Electric Cooperatives generous annual donation is the chief driver of the current program, but the NNEC and the library would like to do more. "If we want to serve more families, we need to raise more money," says Van Doren. We are currently looking at closing our doors to new registrants until we can add to our donation base. We have 275 chil- dren on a waiting list. To that end, NNEC is hosting a Fun Run for families to support the DPIL in downtown Warsaw, Va., on June 7. All proceeds from the Fun Run will be donated to the libraries serving the NNEC coverage area. WRITTEN BY LENORA KRUK-MULLANAPHY Improving Childhood "If I'm remembered 100 years from now, I hope it will be not for is to encourage early literacy skills by mailing a high-quality book families in Stafford (except for the 22405 zip code) and King George Improving Childhood "Our mission is to improve the quality of life in our communities, and investing in our region's youth is one of the best ways to do just that," says Kyle Allwine, manager, public relations for NNEC. "These children will one day be our neighbors, our employ- ees, and our members, so we're giving them access to these books and to a better life through reading and a love of learning." SCAN FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT DOLLY PARTON'S IMAGINATION LIBRARY Fredericksburg Region Literacy in the

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