A new partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library will provide free high-quality and age-appropriate books to Will County children up to age 5, county officials said.
Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant and the Will County Center for Economic Development announced the collaboration with The Dollywood Foundation and a fundraising campaign for the new initiative.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has distributed more than 250 million free books in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland since it launched in 1995, county officials said in a news release.
Will County’s Imagination Library will be supported by the statewide expansion of the program launched in December 2023 by Gov. JB Pritzker, the release said.
With the state match, every $16 raised locally will sponsor one child to receive a year’s worth of age-appropriate books.
The local Imagination Library hopes to raise $150,000 to operate for the first two years. The Lockport Woman’s Club recently donated $5,000 to the effort and signed on to be the first sponsor and program partner.
“Having founded the Lockport Library in 1922, the Lockport Woman’s Club recognizes the Dolly Parton Imagination Library as an excellent opportunity to continue supporting reading and literacy within the community,” club President Janine Wheeler said in the release. “We are honored to be part of this meaningful project that will benefit so many children.”
The county is planning a fundraiser to coincide with Parton’s birthday. It will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, at the Rialto Square Theatre, 102 N. Chicago St. in Joliet. In addition to a reception, Parton’s 1980 movie, “9 to 5” will be shown.
Tickets are $20 and can be bought at the theater’s box office.
They also can be purchased at the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce, 116 N. Chicago St., Suite 110, Joliet; Plainfield Shorewood Chamber of Commerce, 24109 W. Lockport St., Plainfield; or the Lockport Chamber of Commerce, 222. E. 9th St., Lockport.
The community can donate to the library and sponsor a child for one year for $16 at www.WillCountyImaginationLibrary.org.
“The power of books is undeniable,” Bertino-Tarrant said in the release. “The earlier we get them into our children’s hands, the more opportunities we provide for our earliest learners. We have a unique opportunity, with the help of the state of Illinois, to develop emergent readers and create a foundation for the love of books.”
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
