HUNTSVILLE – Alabama today in an official launch event hosted by Governor Kay Ivy kicked off the statewide expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. This program inspires a love of reading by gifting free, age-appropriate books every month to children from birth to age five, regardless of a family’s income. Currently, there are approximately 25,000 Madison County children aged from birth to five. United Way of Madison County staff joined the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education, elected officials, and other partners in the celebration today.

“I am so excited to help announce that my Imagination Library is coming to Alabama,” said Dolly Parton. “A lot of good people have worked to make our Imagination Library dream for Alabama a reality.”

“The United Way of Madison County is honored to be a part of this incredible program, taking the lead in providing free books to families with young children throughout our community. Families who read together support early literary, emotional bonding, and school readiness,” said Daniel Kasambira, President & CEO of The United Way of Madison County. “We encourage our community, both individuals and corporations, to invest as Literacy Champions/Core Business Partners (for $26 per child per year).”

To Learn more or enroll a child, visit https://imaginationlibrary.com/  Those interested in becoming Madison County Literacy Champions may contact Daniel Kasambira at 256-518-8213 or daniel.kasambira@uwmadisoncounty.org).

About Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

Created in 1995, The Dollywood Foundation launched Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to inspire a love of reading and learning in children. Dolly wanted to share her life and legacy as an inspiration to all children to “Dream More, Learn More, Care More and be More.’ 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 has mailed well over 200 million books in Australia, Canada, The Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom and the United States. The Imagination library mails more than 2 million high quality, age-appropriate books each month to registered children from birth to age five. Dolly envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading, inspiring them to dream. The impact of the program has been widely researched and results suggest positive increases in key early childhood literacy metrics. Penguin Random House is the exclusive publisher for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. For more information, please visit imaginationlibrary.com