Across Canada, many cities have access to the “Dolly Parton Imagination Library” program, and we, the committee for the Airdrie Imagination Library, want to bring that love of reading to our city! Our goal is to help little ones (0-5 years) develop key skills and gain a love of reading, by sending a free, high-quality book in the mail – monthly!
When children learn to read, they gain more than just knowledge. Reading is an opportunity for a child to learn, but also broaden their world: it encourages laughter, empathy and comfort. Our program is run on the kindness of local donors and volunteers, and every dollar raised goes directly into the hands of local Airdrie children, through the delivery of a new book. A $50 donation gives one child that exciting feeling of checking the mail for something new – for a whole year. A year of bedtime stories, of characters to look up to, of dreams beyond counting sheep.
Winning this contest would help us get the word out that “we’re here!” first and foremost, but also help us to advertise our fundraisers, and encourage donations and sponsorships to roll this program out, with the end-goal of making it available to our Airdrie kids! We are keeping the light of learning alive in our community, one page, one story, and one child at a time.
As Dolly Parton says, “you can never get enough books into the hands of enough children.”