The child book program was first brought to Reno County in May, 2011 by United Way of Reno County when it was launched in the Fairfield school district by means of a Hutchinson Rotary community grant. Children in Arlington, Abbeyville, Plevna, Langdon, Sylvia and Turon have been receiving free books since July, 2011.

Thanks to additional sponsorships and grants, all Reno County children under the age of five can receive a free book per month from birth until their fifth birthday. Parents or guardians just need to register their children and the books start arriving approximately eight weeks later.

Bretz Law Office will sponsor books for all preschoolers in Buhler and Haven.
Strohl Oil Company will sponsor children in Pretty Prairie. A grant from Bank of America will allow children in Nickerson to participate. And The Herman, Ester, & Henry Stallman Foundation and United Way of Reno County will sponsor books for children in Hutchinson and South Hutchinson. The Dolly Foundation pays for the books. Sponsors pay for the shipping costs, so there is no cost to families. Books are shipped directly to each child’s home and are theirs to keep.

According to kindergarten readiness scores provided by each school district, only 48% of Reno County children arrive kindergarten ready to learn at age level, said Tona Turner, Executive Director of United Way of Reno County. That means more than half of our children are behind the learning curve on day one, causing the schools to spend enormous resources attempting to catch kids up. Many kids never do catch up.

One in five children in Reno County do not read proficiently at fourth grade and nearly 14% of Reno County high school students fail to graduate on time according to the 2010-2011 Kansas Department of Education Report Card, K-12 Reports. Data provided by Kansas DropINs states that a leading contributor to kids not graduating high school is lack of kindergarten readiness. School was too hard or the students couldn’t keep up starting from day one.

Reading daily to a young child is one of the best jump starts to a good education a child can get. It opens the imagination, which stimulates physical brain development, creating more capacity to learn. Research shows that 90% of a person’s brain development occurs before age five. That doesn’t mean 90% of what a person will learn, rather 90% of a person’s capacity to learn is set by age five.

Dolly Parton Imagination Library provides the tools for all families to read daily to their children. There are many reasons some parents do not read to their children, but this program eliminates one of the leading reasons by providing age-appropriate books each month to every child. The Dolly Foundation reports that five-year old children from wealthy families own an average of 300 books, while five-year olds from middle-class families own about 33 books and only one book on average is owned per 300 children living in poverty.

Parents may register young children in the program through United Way of Reno County’s website at www.unitedwayofrenocounty.org or completing a Dolly Parton Imagination Library registration card which can be picked up at any Reno County elementary school, The Hutchinson Public Library or United Way of Reno County.