Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Palm Beach County is seeing more families sign up and more donations come in after a WPTV report on the program aired.
Program director Christen Thompson said about 250 children have signed up to receive free monthly books since the story ran. The program has also received more than $25,000 in donations. The county now has 1,600 children actively enrolled, Thompson said, and more than 40,000 books have been distributed to date.
The program mails a free, age-appropriate book each month to enrolled children. Thompson said about 75,000 children in the county are eligible. Merrell Angstreich, grant writer and public information officer for Lake Park, said books can be an expense some families struggle to cover.
Coral Rhodes, a mother enrolled in the program, said she hopes to pass on the reading habit she grew up with to her daughter.
The program’s goal is to provide free books to every child under 5 in the county. Residents can help by taking part in the Run for Reading 5K, attending a free community movie screening, or sponsoring a child for $30, which covers monthly books for a full year.
