After opening the opportunity to start an installment of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Gloucester, QuickStart Tennis of Central Virginia’s Vice President Lynda Harrill is seeking to bring the program to Mathews as well.
Imagination Libraries mail one book each month to children from birth until their fifth birthday at no cost to families. These programs seek to expose children to books before they begin school, develop their vocabulary and reading skills, and foster a love of reading.
The commonwealth funds 50 percent of the cost of the program. Harrill is seeking a local nonprofit to partner with the Dollywood Foundation to raise funds, market and administer the program locally in Mathews.
The first steps to implement a local program include identifying a local 501(c)(3) partner and forming a local advisory group of six to 10 people, raising the first three years of funding for the local share of costs ($2,845 for Mathews), and finding ongoing donors to sustain the program wit...