Rotary clubs helps kids read with Imagination Library
As governor of Rotary District 6150, Sydney O’Quin Gilbert is on a mission to give Arkansas children more opportunities to read, and she’s counting on Dolly Parton to help.
“Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has been a project for Rotary Clubs across the nation,” Gilbert says. “It works very well with what we desire, which is to increase literacy and provide basic education around the world.”
Through Imagination Library, children can receive one book in the mail each month from birth to age 5. Parton founded the organization in 1995, inspired by her father, who could not read or write.
“If a newborn gets enrolled they’ll get about 60 books over their time in the program, it’s completely free to those kids and families enrolled, and there’s no income requirement,” Gilbert says.
Gilbert chose Imagination Library as the focus for her year as governor after another Rotarian suggested that she work to make the program available in all of Arkansas’ counties.
“I said, ‘Actually, it is in all counties,’” she says. “That told me that there was some education to be done for the public about the program.”
She did some more research and discovered that there are pockets of the state where the program is fully funded and fully enrolled, and others where it is not.
“There are other areas, which happened to, on a map, look exactly like my Rotary district, so north, northeast and east Arkansas. Those areas [are] where the enrollment numbers were fairly low, and so we decided that this would be a great partnership for Rotary clubs in this area to take on the partnership and say, ‘Hey, we need to get more kids enrolled,’” she says.
She made it her mission to spread the word about the program to everyone in those areas.
“So, Imagination Library’s goal is to have 65% of the eligible children enrolled,” she says. “Many of our counties
are doing great at 50% enrollment but then there are others that are down at 23%,” she says.
She hopes to increase funding for the program, as well, so children whose families signed up would not have to sit on waiting lists before receiving their first books.
Rotary Clubs raise money for the programs they support in various ways. The cost per child is $26, which covers 12 books each year.
“What I love about the program is that they’re going to work with their local county affiliate and make sure that money stays in their county and helps the kids in their community,” she says.
The books children receive through the program go directly to their families’ mailboxes and are addressed to the children.
“It’s their mail. It has their name on the outside of the book, so there’s some ownership to it, and they’re putting these books in their little library at their house,” Gilbert says.
Children can enter the program at any time before age 5. Gilbert says the first book a child will receive is “The Little Engine That Could.” The last book they get is about starting kindergarten.
There are 37 Rotary Clubs in District 6150, covering about one-fourth of the state, including the Delta.
“We’re really working to get those kids enrolled and help give them a different trajectory in their lives,” she says. “It’s scientifically proven that kids who are read to at a young age and have access to books in their home actually have better vocabularies and, at age 3, their vocabulary will actually predict how well they will do at third grade reading assessments, so it’s important to get this access to books, in their hands at such a young, formative time.”
Rotary clubs have been supplied with co-branded Imagination Library/Rotary District 6150 posters, and brochures about the program and the partnership have been created and delivered to state health units across Arkansas.
“We also have enrollment forms that are co-branded, as well, and so club members are taking these to daycare centers, to pediatricians’ offices, the state health units — the places where kids are going to be frequently in those early months of life,” she says. “We all are carrying around little business cards that have a QR code on it that says, ‘Are you enrolled?’” Gilbert says.
Gilbert has sweet memories of reading to her own son, now 13.
“My mother is a teacher and a dyslexia specialist, so I knew early on how important it was to have books in the house,” she says. “We read to him every night from when he was in arms, just a baby, and reading out loud was so important.”
She joined Rotary because of her father, a longtime Rotary Club member, and she often encourages people to get plugged in to a club in their county through rotaryclub.org/join so they, too, can help with programs like Imagination Library.
“I think it’s really important to find a good fit because there are many options out there,” she says. “Find one that fits you and that you’re passionate about the work they’re doing. It’s a great partnership to be able to support this program and to have it available for kids.”