In late 2021, Kentucky State Representative Josie Raymond shared some exciting news on her official Facebook page.  That news was from country music icon Dolly Parton and the announcement was a big one for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The announcement?  Dolly Parton's Imagination Library was going to be expanding to every single Kentucky county. As of Monday, June 3rd, that statewide expansion is now a reality!

Dolly created Imagination Library thirty years ago. It was back in 1995 that Dolly planted the seeds of Imagination Library in her hometown of Sevier County, Tennessee. In case you're unfamiliar with the mission of the program, Imagination Library provides FREE books to children through the age of five.

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Today, Imagination Library is in thousands of communities here in the United States and has even expanded internationally. In addition the U.S., Imagination Library is currently available in Canada, England, Ireland, and Australia.

The program is popular and prolific. Today, there are over three million children enrolled in the program, which has delivered over 241,000,000 books. Now, Imagination Library is available in every single county and zip code in Kentucky.

That announcement was made a couple of days ago on social media!

Imagination Library has been available in parts of Kentucky for over twenty years.  It's estimated that, since 2001, Kentucky children have received over 5 million free books. There are currently, over 101,000 children in the state enrolled in the program. That number includes 36% of preschoolers here in Kentucky. With this statewide expansion, that number will only continue to climb, as will the number of free books delivered.

As Dolly says, "You can never get enough books into the hands of children."

If you live here in Kentucky and want to get your child (ages 0 to 5) signed up for the program, simply CLICK HERE!

 

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