Starting June 1, every Sonoma County child under 5 will be eligible to receive a free book every month from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
A coalition of local organizations led by Community Foundation Sonoma County and First 5 Sonoma County, in partnership with the The Dollywood Foundation, poured many cups of ambition and worked 9 to 5 to get the program up and running countywide within six months.
The effort was celebrated at a Wednesday news conference in front of the Head Start Program South Park, where about a dozen preschoolers from Head Start and the Pasitos Playgroup kicked off the event by dancing for the crowd in front of two life-size cardboard cutouts of Dolly Parton.
The famed country singer and actress began the program in Tennessee with the goal of improving literacy rates in her home state. It has spread nationwide in its mission to help families who struggle to afford buying books or taking trips to the library.
Each enrolled child will receive a book in the mail from the The Dollywood Foundation every month until their 5th birthday. Parents will have the option to choose books in English, Spanish or bilingual editions.
“Reading with our families is such a meaningful activity,” said Oscar Chavez, CEO of the Sonoma County Community Foundation. “Whether you read with your kids before bed, in the library, or even just the back of a cereal box, reading with your children can have lifelong positive impacts on their well being and yours.”
The goal is to enroll every one of the 23,000 Sonoma County children who are younger than 5, said Beth Fox, chair of the Sonoma County Imagination Library Advisory Board. That’s because owning your own books is proven to boost literacy rates and early childhood development, she said.
Last year, California legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded the program statewide, providing matching funding for local initiatives, which in Sonoma County included two pledges of $50,000 from Community Foundation Sonoma County and First 5 Sonoma County.
She added that the goal is to raise another $700,000 by the end of 2025 to cover the cost of the program for the next five years.
Angie Dillon Shore, executive director of First 5 Sonoma County, added that established Imagination Library programs in Cloverdale and Healdsburg, led by local Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs and serving approximately 1,000 children, will be folded into the countywide program.
Sonoma Country Supervisor Chris Coursey, speaking at the event, touched on the personal effect that book ownership has had on his family’s life.
He held up a copy of “Huckleberry Finn” and “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” which included a handwritten note inside the cover he made when he was a youngster. He also held up a Dr. Seuss book he had read to his now-adult daughter when she was little. Years later, she gave it back to him with a note inside the cover announcing her pregnancy.
“I just want to wish all the kids who receive these books an amazing journey, no matter where those books, or those words or their imaginations take you,” he said.
Rachel King, senior regional director for the Dollywood Foundation USA, said Sonoma County organizations were “super excited” to get the library started, and they stood out among other counties.
“I think Sonoma County is just a wonderful example of how if everybody comes together, this is going to be so successful,” she said.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect that Community Foundation Sonoma County and First 5 Sonoma County donated $50,000 each.
You can reach Staff Writer Alana Minkler at 707-526-8531 or alana.minkler@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter,) @alana_minkler.
