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Sponsors needed for Dolly Parton project

Nathan Hall

News-Journal Staff

You can thank Dolly Patron.

Local children, thanks in part to the country music star's generosity, could soon get a book delivered to their door each month at no cost to the family.

A group of citizens joined with Partnership for Children to bring Parton's Imagination Library program to Mitchell County. M-Y Partnership for Children Executive Director Jennifer Simpson said the project needs local sponsors to help with the cost of the books. To provide a child with 12 books a year costs $27.

Simpson said this investment is a good chance to focus on the importance of early literacy.

"When kids are exposed to reading and books at an early age, it will have a positive effect on their school career, and on their life as adults," she said. "What we do now could affect the rest of their life."

Local children, up to five years of age, are eligible for the program. Simpson said the total cost will be about $16,000 per year, once everyone is registered and participating.

In 1995, Parton developed the Imagination Library program so every preschool child in her home in Sevier County, TN, would have their own library of books to encourage them to read.

Simpson said if you sponsor a child for one year ($27), you will get a free Christmas wreath courtesy of Faye Barber.

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