October 26, 2016 — Board approved a five-year grant of $400,000 toward the county-wide implementation of the Dolly Parton's Imagination Library book distribution program. The Stocker Foundation will serve as the backbone agency, supporting a coalition of nonprofit organizations and governmental entitites. The program is scheduled to launch next summer prior to the start of school year 2017-18. Patricia O'Brien, Executive Director of The Stocker Foundation states, "The Stocker Foundation aims for lasting impact, ensuring Lorain County's youngest learners enter formal education kindergarten ready and stay on-track for grade-level reading by the end of third grade. Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is another example of the Board's commitment to this goal." Dolly Parton's Imagination Library was established in 1995 by The Dollywood Foundation to benefit young children living in eastern Tennessee. Within five years, the program was successful enough locally to be scaled nationally.
Today, is available in all fifty states, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia. The goal of this book distribution program is to improve kindergarten readiness and later school performance by building awareness of the importance of parents reading to their children every day as well as instilling in young children an early love of reading. O'Brien advices, "In the first six years, children learn at a much faster pace than at any other time in their lives. Reading opens the door to early academic success. Numerous studies have shown that when children learn to read at an early age, they have greater general knowledge, expand their vocabulary and become more fluent readers. They also have improved attention spans and better concentration which are important skills to develop before entering kindergarten. Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is open to all children from birth to age five. Each month, registered children will receive a brand new book mailed directly to their home at no-cost, regardless of income. O'Brien said, "If a parent were to sign up their son or daughter at birth, the child would enter kindergarten with an at-home library of seventy-two books. The first book each child receives is The Little Engine that Could and the month the child turns five, s/he receives Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!" In 2015, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library celebrated its twentieth anniversary, distributing more than ten million books in a single year. Since inception, the program has distributed 70 million books to approximately 938,417 children around the world.
The decision to scale Dolly Parton's Imagination Library program into a county-wide initiative emerged from the success of Elyria's Ready, Set, Go to Kindergarten pilot program and research conducted by Lorain County Literacy Collaborative.
O'Brien explained, "Stocker Foundation Office & Grants Manager, Melanie Wilson, continues to meet regularly with a core group of 21 individuals, solidifying plans for the launch of the program. In Lorain County, there are just over 18,000 children under the age of five eligible to participate. By using a roll-out strategy that targets zip codes with higher percentages of children living in poverty, LCDPIL anticipates enrolling at least 60% of all eligible children within five years.
The Stocker Foundation was established by Beth K. Stocker in 1979. Over time, the foundation has evolved into a mature grant-making organization with current approximate assets of $50 million. Annually, The Stocker Foundation awards three million to tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations across the United States. Currently eligible are communities located in Lorain and Cuyahoga counties, Ohio; Pima County, Arizona; Alameda and San Francisco counties, California; Dona Ana County, New Mexico; King County, Washington; and Hartford County, Connecticut. Competitive grantmaking focuses upon lessening the reading literacy achievement gap so that all students read at or above grade-level by the end of third grade.
