Newsroom

United Way Set to Mail One Millionth Book in Erie County Through Imagination Library

Wednesday Nov 30th, 2022

A free book-a-month program for all children living in Erie County from birth to age five. That’s the Imagination Library! Launched by United Way of Erie County in 2013, the Imagination Library for Erie County will celebrate a historic milestone during the month of December… hitting the ONE MILLION books mailed mark.

United Way’s Imagination Library provides FREE books monthly to children from the time they are born to their fifth birthday. If a child is enrolled in the program for that entire time, they will enter kindergarten with their very own library of 60 high-quality, age-appropriate books. Not only that, but research shows child who graduate from the Imagination Library have stronger beginning reading skills and concepts about print than their peers who don’t have the books in their home.

In 1995, Dolly Parton launched the Imagination Library, to benefit the children of her home county in East Tennessee, USA. Dolly’s vision was to foster a love of reading among her county’s preschool children and their families by providing them with the gift of a specially selected book each month.

The Imagination Library became so popular that in the year 2000 it was announced that the Dollywood Foundation would make the program available for replication to any community that was willing to partner with her to support it locally.

The Imagination Library became so popular that in the year 2000 it was announced that the Dollywood Foundation would make the program available for replication to any community that was willing to partner with her to support it locally.

United Way thanks Erie Insurance for their recent Investing in our Future contribution of $75,000 helping to kick start the Month of Millionth.