Serving Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington Parishes
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library
How It Works
It sounds almost too simple to be true, but by reading regularly with your children during their preschool years, you are giving them the biggest boost toward a successful education they will ever get.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library will help you read with your child. There are many reasons parents do not read to their child, but we can eliminate one of them. Every child will have books of their very own, at no cost to you, thanks to *United Way serving St. Tammany and Dolly Parton.
Each month a new, carefully selected book will be mailed in your child’s name directly to your home. He/she can look forward to new and exciting reading adventures from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library until he/she turns five years old as long as you remain a resident of St. Tammany Parish. Should the child move outside St. Tammany Parish, he/she automatically exits the program.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a FREE GIFT to our children! All you have to do is read to your children.
Who Is Eligible?
Preschool children (birth until their fifth birthday) residing in St. Tammany Parish.
What Are My Responsibilities?
1. Be a resident of St. Tammany Parish.
2. Submit an official registration form, completely filled out by parent or guardian (form must be
approved and on file with United Way serving St. Tammany).
3. Notify United Way serving St. Tammany any time your address changes. Books are mailed
to the address listed on the official registration form. If the child’s address changes, you must
contact your friends at the address on this brochure in order to continue receiving books.
4. Read with your child.
When Will I Receive Books?
Eight to ten weeks after your registration form has been received, books will begin arriving at
your home and will continue until your child turns five or you move out of St. Tammany Parish.
How Can I Help?
Do you know a preschool child in St. Tammany Parish who is not receiving Dolly Parton’s
Imagination Library? Give their parents a brochure/ registration form and encourage them to fill it out and mail it to the address below. Telling them about this FREE program can make a huge difference in their future and the future of our community.
If you know of a business, organization or individual who would like to donate funds to support
this gift to your children, donations can be sent to:
United Way serving St. Tammany
325 N. New Hampshire St.
Covington, LA 70433
(985) 875-3026
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library
“This program is one of the most important ways I know to improve the educational opportunities for children in your community!”
-Dolly
What Is It?
Parton founded the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in 1996 to benefit the children of her home country in east Tennessee. She wanted children to be excited about books and to feel the magic that books can create.
The program provides new, carefully selected, age-appropriate books to children every month for the first five years of their lives for free, regardless of their family's income. The program also encourages parents to read with their children during their preschool years, giving them a big boost toward a successful education.
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A Special Message from Dolly Parton
Growing up in the Smoky Mountains was a real blessing. There were some tough times, but most of our life was full of the kind of riches money can never buy. One of my most precious memories is sitting in my mother’s lap and listening to her read me stories from the Bible. It felt so warm and cozy. My imagination soared to places far beyond our little cabin. Those wonderful moments with my mother inspired me to create my Imagination Library.
Thanks to *United Way serving St. Tammany, all of the preschoolers in your community can now have their own Imagination Library. Just think, a book mailed to your child each month until their 5th birthday! I hope these books inspire you to read to your child. There is nothing quite like the sparkle in a child’s eye when animals come alive and clowns dance on the page.
I hope you’ll encourage your children to keep dreaming and to dream big. If my Imagination Library helps turn the dreams of a child into the promise of a bright future, then one of my biggest dreams will come true.
