The Dolly Parton Imagination Library project began in Fayette County in 2007, with the goal of providing one book a month to children from birth through 5 years of age. The program passed the 100,000 books delivered milestone at the end of the 2021 calendar year. The program is funded each year with its Annual Golf Outing. In its 12th year, the Annual Golf Outing is scheduled Friday, July 28 at Duck Hollow Golf Course and is open to the public for registrations, donations, and volunteers. This single event funds the nearly 500 children in the Uniontown area who benefit from the literacy initiative. Children in the program receive a book a month, mailed directly to them. Specific themes containing age-appropriate characteristics have been developed for each year a child receives books, which are listed below.
Fayette County has one of the highest illiteracy rates in the state of Pennsylvania. Imagination Library seeks to improve the literacy rate and help the children of this county be prepared for school and work. Its goals are to promote a love of reading and learning; regard for diversity of people, their roles, culture, and environment; promotion of self-esteem and confidence, appreciation of art and aesthetics. It also seeks to promote literacy among the families by providing opportunities for parents and children to read together.
The original goal was to have a continuous enrollment of 500 children in the Uniontown a School District. Imagination Library partnered with the Redstone Foundation of Fayette County to administer the funds and with the Uniontown Public Library to handle the operational aspects of the program. To date the chapter has exceeded their goal and currently have over 500 children enrolled and receiving books monthly. If this year’s fundraising goals are met, the chapter plans to expand to include the Brownsville area.
The Annual Golf Tournament at Duck Hollow is the main fundraiser for the year. The proceeds help to sustain and expand the program. This year’s event will again be held at Duck Hollow Golf Course on Friday, July 28 at 9 a.m. You can scan the QR code below to download the flier and register or donate today. Your support of this event is very much appreciated and will benefit the children in Fayette County.
https://www.
Children Enrolled:
- 2022: 553
- 2021: 658
- 2020: 770
- 2019: 857
Curriculum Themes:
Year 1:
- Vision – bright, big, colorful
- Touch – board pages
- Rhyme and rhythm
- Simple – easy to use
- Minimal text – point and say
- Playful sound
- Nurture – attachment- lullaby themes
Year 2:
- Continue concepts from year one and build upon them
- Repetition and predictability – generate language
- Motor skills
- “Self-help” activities – things children can do, things familiar in their daily life
- Use of real photo illustration
- Body awareness
- Nursery rhymes
- Colors, letters, numbers
Year 3:
- Wordless books – build your own story (reader and child)
- Values and character
- Issues – fear, conflict, love, safety
- Colors, letters, numbers
- Nursery rhymes
Year 4:
- More complex stories – hero, complication, resolution
- Diversity of others – faces, environment – OK to be different
- Play, humor, fun
- Nursery rhymes and poetry
Year 5:
- School preparation and readiness
- Use rebus (pictures used for words)
- Science – non-fiction
- Folk tales
- Thank you, appreciation
- Rhymes and poetry
Imagination Library provides one book per month to children from birth through the age of five years. One component of Workforce Development is having a trained and educated workforce in Fayette County. It is imperative that adults are able to read and write which is why literacy is so important. It starts at birth and the first five years of a child’s life set the stage for future learning, educational development, and workforce preparation. Imagination Library is an important step in that process. With proceeds generated from our annual fundraisers, we will be able to sustain and possibly increase the number of children served, with the goal of continuing to provide a trained workforce for the future of Fayette County.