Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library coming to Aurora, Kane County

Kane County children can enroll to receive a free book each month from the Fox Valley United Way through Dolly Parton’s youth literacy program.

Follett Educational Foundation provided a $100,000 foundation grant to the Fox Valley United Way to establish the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, an early childhood literacy program for ages 5 and younger, in Aurora and surrounding Kane County communities.

The grant ensures that every child ages 5 and younger in Aurora, North Aurora, Geneva, St. Charles, Elburn, Sugar Grove, Maple Park, Big Rock, Hinckley, and South Elgin, could benefit from the program.

The program will enable the United Way to provide up to 20,000 Fox Valley children with a free, high-quality and age appropriate book each month, aiming to help bridge any economic or social gaps and provide all children with the opportunity to develop a love for reading.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library was the flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Since its founding in 1995, the program has gifted over 250 million free books to children in the US, Canada, UK, Australia and Ireland.

“We are thrilled to bring the Imagination Library to every child in Aurora,” Illinois State Director of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Andi Drileck said in the release. “This generous support from Follett Educational Foundation is a testament to the power of community partnerships in fostering early childhood literacy and educational success.”

The funding from Follett will cover the program’s implementation, enrollment, and delivery of the books to participants.

“We are incredibly grateful for the generous funding from Follett,” Fox Valley United Way director of community engagement Lisa Foydel said in a news release. “This will create an extraordinary opportunity to share the magic of the Imagination Library with children throughout our service area! Early literacy has been at the heart of our mission for many years, and this donation will amplify our impact in ways we could only dream of!”

For 150 years, Follett has been a family-owned Chicago area business with the purpose of getting books into the hands of kindergarten through higher education students nationwide.

“While the family no longer owns those businesses, our Foundation is committed to ensure every child has access to books,” Follett Foundation President Britten Follett said in the release. “Partnering with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to provide books to every child born in Aurora and nearby cities was a perfect opportunity for us to give back to the communities and team members who helped build the Follett businesses over the years and further our mission to deliver books to underserved communities.”

To learn more about the program, sponsorship opportunities or to enroll your child, visit www.foxvalleyunitedway.org/dollypartons-imagination-library or contact info@foxvalleyunitedway.org.