Dolly Parton, renowned singer, songwriter, and philanthropist, visited the Kansas to mark the remarkable achievements of her Imagination Library program. The closed event, hosted by the Imagination Library of Kansas, took place on Monday. This occasion celebrated the statewide success of providing free books to children from birth to age five, fostering early childhood literacy and development.

Attending the event from the Golden Belt were: Julie Bugner-Smith, past United Way of Central Kansas executive director, 2009-2017; Gaila Demel, past UWCK executive director, 2017-2021; Charell Owings UWCK executive director 2022 to present; UWCK President, Becca Maxwell; Larned UWCK Board member Tama Hanson; former Ellinwood Imagination Library facilitator Julie Blakeslee; current Ellinwood Imagination Library facilitator Amy Robinson Hammeke; and Ellinwood School Community Library Director Sheri Holmes.

It is the UWCK that brought the Imagination Library to this area.

Thanks to increased funding from the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund, as well as the Kansas Legislature, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is now able to extend its reach to every child in Kansas. This initiative ensures that young minds across the state have access to high-quality, age-appropriate books each month, supporting their social-emotional, physical, and cognitive growth.

Pratt, a pioneering community in Kansas, holds the distinction of launching the first Imagination Library site outside of Tennessee in 2005. Over the years, Kansas has embraced this program with enthusiasm, enrolling more than 52,200 children and gifting an impressive 3.8 million books since its inception.

In a heartwarming display of community support, United Way of Central Kansas Directors, both past and present, gathered to celebrate this momentous event. Their presence underscores the collaborative efforts that have contributed to the program’s success and reflects the commitment of United Way to promoting early childhood education and literacy.

Dolly Parton’s inspiration for the Imagination Library program stems from her father’s struggles with literacy. In 1995, she founded the program, which has since grown to deliver over 2 million high-quality books to children’s homes each month. Each enrolled child receives a new book every month until their fifth birthday, at no cost to families.

For further information about the Imagination Library program, visit imaginationlibrary.com.