Tennessee Governor, Dolly Parton Promote Imagination Library Week In Tennessee

09/18/2007 -- Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen is urging communities across the state to celebrate the benefits of books for young children during the second annual Imagination Library Week in Tennessee. Bredesen proclaimed Sept. 16-22 as Imagination Library Week, which is full of events aimed at boosting enrollment and community support across the state.

"Imagination Library Week is an opportunity to generate greater awareness for the program and the importance of reading to children regularly as preparation for formal education,” Bredesen said. “With the dedication and hard work of volunteers in all 95 counties, we are working to instill a love of books and reading at the earliest possible age in each and every one of Tennessee's children."

Now that the program is available in every county of the state, many are sponsoring local activities to celebrate Imagination Library Week that range from read-alongs and sign-up drives to 5K runs to stroller-thons.

“The people that help with this program are really the ones that should get the honor,” said Dolly Parton. “There’s a lot of great people out there working, and the Governor and I just want to thank them for helping to make this all possible.”

New public service announcements featuring Bredesen and Dolly Parton will be available October 1. These announcements will air in all 95 counties and will focus on informing parents that the Imagination Library program is now available to every Tennessee child under the age of five.

Created in 1996 by Dolly Parton in her hometown of Sevierville, Tenn., the Imagination Library mails a new, age-appropriate, hardcover book every month to registered children from birth to age five. These books are sent at no cost to the family, regardless of income. A blue-ribbon committee of childhood education experts selects the books for the Imagination Library, which includes such classics as The Little Engine That Could, The Snowy Day, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten.

A main objective of the Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation is to enroll any and all eligible children in the program. Forty-seven percent of the state’s eligible population – nearly 175,000 – are currently registered in the program. As public awareness for the Imagination Library continues to build, the Foundation also assists dedicated volunteers in all Tennessee counties with fund-raising efforts to cover half the cost of the books.

For a list of Imagination Library Week events in your area, please visit www.GovernorsFoundation.org/il_week.htm. To learn more about the Imagination Library program in your county, or for information on how to register a child, visit www.GovernorsFoundation.org or call toll free 1-877-99-BOOKS.

Source: Tennessee Governor

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