The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is being paused this month in northern Nevada due to a lack of funding.
The library is a program that provides children with books right to their homes, completely free to families.
Daniel Amaya, Director of Marketing and Communications for United Way of Northern Nevada and the Sierra, tells us, "One of the biggest issues we see a lot of times with families is they don't have the means or time to go purchase books."
This program is for kids under the age of five.
In the past, the Dolly Parton Imagination Library was funded through a bill, so they were able to receive federal funding.
This year, with federal dollars dried up, they did not get the funding for the Imagination Library in Northern Nevada.
Amaya explains, "We've been working with the Rotary Clubs in Reno and Sparks, as well as the reading coalition, to raise funds to continue the program, but it's a lot of money we have to raise."
On average, they spend around $22,000 to $23,000 a month just sending out books to over 10,000 kids.
Amaya discussed the impact of the program.
"Studies show kids that have healthy reading habits at home are more likely to succeed all throughout elementary school, Amaya said. "Some families don't have the means or resources to be able to access books or even be able to read at home. It puts books in homes. It promotes healthy reading habits from the youngest of ages so that they're ready for things like preschool, kindergarten, first grade, and second grade, and reading is not a foreign concept. It's something they do in their home every day."
He says it's all about promoting early reading.
"At the earliest of ages, how can a kid learn how to read? Well, we have to get a book in front of them first," he said. "I know my daughter, for instance, loves getting a book in the mail every single month. She gets so excited to go, 'Daddy, it's the first of the month! Let's go check the mail. Did my Dolly Parton book come?' And that's the book we read at night, and it creates a healthy relationship with reading."
The biggest thing they need now is the money to be able to run the program, and you can donate to help out by clicking the link here.
Amaya says that at United Way, they identified that education in the Northern Nevada region needs help to bridge literacy gaps, and they use the Dolly Parton Imagination Library as a tool to achieve this.
He says, "From there, we offer Nevada Ready Pre-K, which is free Pre-K for families that qualify all over northern Nevada, here to Elko and counties in between. We also have the United Readers Program that brings interventions into schools and provides resources for kids who wouldn't otherwise get those resources."
Amaya adds, "Our main goal is how do we create a better education system here? How do we help aid the education system we have here? And how do we promote bridging literacy gaps throughout northern Nevada?"
