LARNED — The Larned Pamida and the Pamida Foundation are helping the United Way of Central Kansas to launch the Dolly Parton Imagination Library as a pilot program in Larned.
Pamida is donating $500, plus a 10 percent discount on any items in the store.
“Pamida is committed to the continued growth and well-being of the Larned community and we are pleased to support this worthwhile cause,” said Kathleen Scheid, Pamida Foundation coordinator.  
Julie Bugner-Smith, United Way of Central Kansas director, said the program requires $1,000 to get started locally.  The Jordaan Library will eventually sign up children under 5 years old in the 67550 Larned zip code. Children receive an age-appropriate book every month.
“We’re hoping this is another avenue for parents to read to their children,” Bugner-Smith said. “Reading is the basis for everything. It increases their ability to learn and this will help them later in life.”
Bugner-Smith said the Learning Center is another United Way program targeted for young children.
She plans to meet with Jordaan Librarian Margaret Larson and other civic organizations. The signup will occur later this summer. 
“We’d love to get the community involved,” she said.
Larson said her grandchildren, Elka, 4, and Thor, 2, have joined the book program in Eagle River, Alaska. The first book for the children of Andrew and Katie Larson was “The Little Engine That Could.”
“The book is an original 1947 edition and they were quite taken by the pictures,” Larson said. “Both sets of grandchildren look books and love being read to.”
Bugner-Smith said tax-deductible United Way donations can specifically be targeted for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. For information, e-mail Bugner-Smith at
unitedwaycentralks@hotmail.com or call 620-792-2403.
• DOLLY PARTON         IMAGINATION LIBRARY
 In 1996, Dolly Parton launched an exciting new effort to benefit the children of her home county in east Tennessee.
Dolly wanted to foster a love of reading among her county’s preschool children and their families. She wanted children to be excited about books and to feel the magic that books can create. Moreover, she could insure that every child would have books, regardless of their family’s income.
So she decided to mail a brand new, age appropriate book each month to every child under 5 in Sevier County, Tenn. With the arrival of every child’s first book, the classic “The Little Engine That Could,” every child could now experience the joy of finding their very own book in their mail box.
These moments continue each month until the child turns 5 —and in their very last month in the program they receive, “Look Out Kindergarten Here I Come.”
Many other communities desired to provide the Imagination Library to their children. Dolly asked a blue ribbon panel of experts to select just the right books and secured Penguin Group USA to be the exclusive publisher for the Imagination Library. A database was built to keep track of the information.
Dolly’s Foundation provides the books.
A community must make the program accessible to all preschool children in their area. The community pays for the books and mailing, promotes the program, registers the children, and enters the information into the database.
The Dollywood Foundation takes over and manages the system to deliver the books to the home.