It’s been a year since Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library was introduced to the children of Altona and surrounding communities, and local coordinator Nicole Friesen couldn’t be happier with the results.
“It has gone really well,” she says. “We currently have 268 active children on our list, and 41 have graduated from the program, meaning they have turned five and are then ineligible.
“Overall, we’ve served 309 children and sent out 2,987 books over the last year. That’s amazing.”
The Imagination Library allows children to receive a free book personally addressed to them every month.
It’s easy to sign up: simply visit imaginationlibrary.com/ca/and find the Altona program, or send an email to ImaginationLibraryAltona@outlook.com for the form. The program currently serves postal codes in Gretna and Rosenfeld as well.
Friesen emphasizes the importance of signing up each child in the family individually.
“If you have two children in your family, sign them both up because they’ll be getting different books,” she says. “Each book is addressed specifically to that child. Receiving something that’s meant just for them in the mail every month is very special, especially for children who might not get many personalized gifts. And these are books that the family can keep and love forever.”
If a child is signed up at birth, this means they would have received 60 different books by the time they graduate from the program.
Motivated by her father’s inability to read and write, Parton started the Imagination Library in 1995 for the children in her hometown in Tennessee. To date, her initiative has gifted over 200 million free, age-appropriate books worldwide.
Funding for the program is a community effort. Parton’s organization covers a portion of the costs, while the remaining $47 per child per year is either fundraised or sponsored by local businesses.
“It’s not a free program [to run], so we have to look for funding on our end,” Friesen explains. “Elmers Manufacturing sponsored all children in the Altona area under the age of five over the past year and has committed their support for the coming year as well. It’s a great investment in our kids. It’s a really great program.”
Friesen shared that her own four children have been enjoying the books immensely.
“They just love getting them every month,” she said.
The program currently mails about 60,000 books per month to children across Canada.
