The Grants Pass Rotary Club is prepared to give away 500 early literacy children’s books to community members during the Boatnik parade on Saturday, May 25 to promote the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program in partnership with Josephine Community Library.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free books to children every month from birth to age five in participating communities. A diverse batch of books is selected for each age group including bilingual books in English and Spanish, with options for braille and audiobooks.
“Giving children books is the perfect way to serve our community,” said Tina Gotchall, library board member and Rotary club president. “The partnership between Rotary, the library, and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library helps spark a child’s love of reading, and we are honored to be a part of that.”
Through this program, every child under the age of five in Josephine County is qualified to receive a book by mail, at no cost to their families, every month until their fifth birthday thanks to funding support from Grants Pass Rotary Club and a 50 percent matching grant from the State of Oregon.
Parents and caregivers can register their children for free by stopping by their nearest library branch in Grants Pass, Illinois Valley, Williams, or Wolf Creek and filling out a paper registration form, or by filling out the online registration form at josephinelibrary.org.
The first book every child receives is The Little Engine That Could, Dolly Parton’s favorite book. The message of the book is timeless, encouraging children to never give up, do their best, and stay positive no matter what. A complete list of books from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library can be found at https://imaginationlibrary.com/usa/book-list.
Since launching Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in 2018, over 5,021 Josephine County children have received 137,602 books.
For more information about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, visit josephinelibrary.org, email info@josephinelibrary.org, or call 541-476-0571. For more information about the Grants Pass Rotary Club, contact President Tina Gotchall at 541-659-3942.
In Josephine County, Oregon, residents receive public library services through Josephine Community Library District, formed in May 2017 as a special library district with branches in Grants Pass, Illinois Valley, Williams, and Wolf Creek. From public information and early childhood literacy to access to the Internet and critical support for families, seniors, entrepreneurs, and job seekers, Josephine Community Library is committed to connecting diverse community members to reliable resources and technology. For more information about library services or to volunteer, visit josephinelibrary.org, email info@josephinelibrary.org, or call 541-476-0571.