Dolly Parton’s literacy nonprofit will now provide a free book each month to children in Alabama’s foster care system.
In a news release, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey stated that every child in the state should have a solid start, and reading is the first step toward that foundation. We are sowing the seeds for a lifetime of learning and achievement by giving our youngest Alabamans a new book every month.
The Department of Human Resources will automatically enroll all foster children aged 0–5 in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program in collaboration with the state Department of Early Childhood Education.
As part of the program, those kids will get a free book in the mail each month. Age-appropriate and excellent quality books are offered.
Alabama has been a part of the Imagination Library program since 2023, which offers children ages 0 to 5 a free book each month, provided that their parents or guardians enroll in the program.
Foster children’s enrollment will now be managed by Alabama’s DHR at no additional expense to the foster parents.
According to a news release from Alabama DHR Commissioner Nancy Buckner, foster children’s lives are always changing, and these monthly books will be something they look forward to each month. One way we want to secure their future success is by giving them these books as gifts.
According to the news release, foster parents who are caring for a child in the program’s age range should anticipate receiving a letter in the mail outlining the program’s specifics. After turning five, children will automatically be removed from the program.
The Imagination Library was first established in 1995 to give children in Sevier County, Tennessee, where Parton was up, access to books. It swiftly grew and now distributes books to kids across the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Ireland.
The news announcement states that about one in seven children under five in the United States receive books from the Imagination Library each month.
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