More than 2,000 Montgomery County children could soon benefit from free books from an affiliation between Children’s Books on Wheels and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
Children’s Books on Wheels is a literacy organization with headquarters in the Tamina community but serves all of Montgomery County. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library sends free books to children, from newborn to 5 years old, each month. Together, the organizations are planning on getting children ready for school before they even start.
“We know that literacy is very important to children, to students, to families, and we want to service our diverse communities,” Children’s Books on Wheels Executive Director Rita Wiltz said. “That’s why we’re so happy to partner with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.”
Parton started the Imagination Library in honor of her father. In a letter Parton posted on the library website, she said her father was the smartest man she knew, but his illiteracy probably held him back from fulfilling his dreams.
“Inspiring kids to love to read became my mission,” Parton said, according to the letter. “In the beginning, my hope was simply to inspire the children in my home county but here we are today with a worldwide program that gives a book a month to well over 1 million children.”
As the Montgomery County affiliate with the Imagination Library, Children’s Books on Wheels is raising $15,000 for Parton’s organization. That money will be used to send books to 2,100 children in the 77385 area code here in the county.
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The fundraising started at a kick-off event hosted by Buckalew Chevrolet in Conroe on Tuesday evening, where the group raised $2,500. As the Montgomery County affiliate, the organization also will act as a connection point for local kids to the Imagination Library, will raise local awareness, enroll local children in the program, and will pay the wholesale cost of the books and mailing.
The target population for Children’s Books on Wheels is pre-kindergarten through high school. By working with the Imagination Library, the literacy organization can help a wider range of local children gain access to free books.
“With early reading and learning, the children are ready when they start school and they can just hit the ground running,” Wiltz said.
The funds raised for the library are raised separately from the organizations’s funds and go directly to the national organization. Edna Asare is a member of the executive board of Children’s Books on Wheels in charge of the fundraising for the Imagination Library. She has been a volunteer for several years.
“I truly enjoy the fact that we are able to give books to kids and get them energized,” Asare said.
As the local organization is able to raise more funds, more children from other local zip codes will benefit. Donations are being accepted through Paypal. The link can also be found on the group’s Facebook page.
“We actually can provide books for a full year to a child for just $25,” said Rebecca Richardson, the chairwoman for the Montgomery County chapter of the Imagination Library. “To put it in perspective, a $100 donation can take care of four children for a year.”
