Dolly Parton's Imagination Library - Annalise Elam

Wed, Nov 4th 2015 at 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Annalise Elam was the guest at The Rotary Club of Senlac’s dinner on 4 November. A former primary school teacher, Annalise became interested in adult literacy and her research led her into” Imagination”, a charity set up by Dolly Parton to improve literacy in children and to prepare them for the future. Annalise has now set up a local charity based on Imagination in Hastings and called it “Imagine Nation.”The scheme is in very early days but the charity now has trustees in place and development research is under way.

The charity will work within the Dolly Parton framework and its aim is to provide every child a monthly book from birth to 5years old. The books are committee selected and appropriate to the child’s age so at the end of the period a child will have amassed a library of 60 books.

Hastings is one of the most deprived areas in the UK and literacy rates are low, hence the funding for the area. Research has shown that the scheme has boosted children’s reading skills and given them a much stronger base in their studies and life-skills. It has also shown dramatic improvement in shared reading, especially parent/child combination and the value from early in the child's life before they can respond to the colours, text and words they hear.

To date nearly 74million books have been posted out across the world and in the UK. Since its launch by Dolly Parton in Rotherham in 2007, 76 communities are posting out 30,000 books a month with a total distribution to date of about 1.7 million. The cost for each child is about £25 a year and the Dolly Parton Foundation funds the back office costs.

The scheme has been strongly supported by the Rotary club of Nottingham and a recent evaluation and report by the University of Notting has been very encouraging.

PBS NewsHour sits down with Dolly Parton and profiles her Imagination Library early childhood literacy program now available in the USA, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWUAkeI2MD0