Salford children have helped to launch a Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library at Little Hulton Library today and have also enjoyed a fun storytelling session.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and Salford City Council are inviting parents of children born in 2024 in Little Hulton, Salford to sign up to enrol in the programme.
Salford City Council is funding the latest book gifting programme in the city which is devoted to inspiring a love of reading in children.
Inspired by her father’s inability to read or write, country music icon Dolly started her Imagination Library in 1995 for children in her home county.
Today, her programme spans five countries and gifts over three million free books each month to children, regardless of the family’s income.
Last year, Dolly celebrated her 200 millionth book gifted milestone since inception, with over six million of those going to families in the UK.
The programme posts an age-appropriate book each month to children from birth to age five. The books are specially wrapped and addressed to the child and delivered, at no cost to the family. When children turn five, they receive a graduation book and a special letter to mark the end of the scheme.
The Little Hulton scheme will provide books for local children, with Salford City Council providing additional funding to run the scheme.
Councillor Jim Cammell, Lead Member for Children’s and Young People’s Services at Salford City Council, said: “It’s great news that we are able to launch another Dolly Parton Imagination Library in Salford. This will add to our work to improve educational outcomes and literacy for early years children in the city. This is particularly important as there continues to be a gap in Salford’s outcomes compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels.
“We are committed to working in partnership with all our communities to ensure Salford is a great place, where children get the best start in life, and can learn and develop the skills they need to thrive. We have recently launched a gold standard literacy hub with the National Literacy Trust, and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library will support the work of the hub by promoting reading from the early years of a child’s life.”
Meg Fletcher, Regional Director at The Dollywood Foundation from Dolly Parton Imagination Library, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Salford City Council to reach even more children in the community. We’re building on a strong history of programmes in the city thanks to the tireless efforts of our champions and hope that families enjoy receiving the books each month!”
