Press release:
It is the Rotary International vision statement that perhaps says it best “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.” Rotarians are a collection of people of action, and we share a strong sense of purpose. One of our goals is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy. We support education for all children and literacy for children and adults. With the assistance of a matching grant from Rotary District 7090, the Rotary Club of LeRoy is happy to announce a $4,000 Grant from the Rotary Club of LeRoy to The Richter Family Foundation.
The Richter Family Foundation is the local 501(c)(3) that partners with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library on the procurement and delivery of the books. It’s through the Imagination Library that children are able to enjoy books from birth to age five. Without the program, the children may not have access to any books in their community. The grant will provide continued support for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of LeRoy, NY which was started in 2020. Monthly, 49 children receive free books in the LeRoy Central School District. The grant will fund the purchase of 1,904 books allowing for the addition of up to 109 children to the program at a cost of $2.10 per book.
Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become the preeminent early childhood book gifting program in the world. The flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation has mailed well over 100 million free books in Australia, Canada, The Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Imagination Library mails more than 1.4 million high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to registered children from birth to age five. Dolly envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading, inspiring them to dream. The impact of the program has been widely researched and results suggest positive increases in key early childhood literacy metrics. Penguin Random House is the exclusive publisher for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
