The Hancock County community is encouraged to support Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Nov. 9 to 13, where a matching grant program will help provide books to local families.
Imagination Library, now replicated worldwide, provides an age-appropriate book, delivered monthly directly to the home of children from birth. When fully implemented, every Hancock County child will have books, regardless of their family’s income. Enrollment will begin with babies born on Jan. 1, 2016, and by 2020 all enrolled children from birth to the age of 5 will be receiving 60 books at home by their fifth birthday.
Although books are free to families, the community bears a financial responsibility. Representatives of the Hancock County Community Foundation and Hancock County Public Library gathered Sept. 17 to launch the Imagination Library Express, an endeavor to build $2 million endowment over five years to produce perpetual income to cover book expenses. For every $1 donated during National Philanthropy Week Nov. 9 to 13, 50 cents will be matched via a grant from Lilly Endowment. For details, visit giveHCgrowHC.org.
