HANCOCK COUNTY — An effort to help Hancock County children learn to read now counts some 1,000 infants and children among its ranks, according to library officials.
Imagination Library Giving Week, Sept. 17 through Sept. 21, combines efforts of local business partners, area schools and others to raise money that will keep the program running for years to come. Students and educators across the county will raise money through activities all week, including hat days, pajama days and other privileges students pay a small amount to enjoy during the school day.
Eastern Hancock, Greenfield-Central, Mt. Vernon and Southern Hancock schools will participate in Imagination Library Giving Week, as well as St. Michael Catholic School and Zion Lutheran School. A variety of county businesses will host promotions and dine-and-donate nights.
Imagination Library, an early childhood literacy program launched by the Dollywood Foundation in 1995, was brought to Hancock County through a partnership between the community foundation, which raises the money to buy books for children who participate, and the Hancock County Public Library, which handles the administrative duties, including enrolling eligible families.
The program provides a free age-appropriate book to residents of Hancock County children born on or after Jan. 1, 2016. Free books are delivered monthly to the home in the name of the enrolled child. A child enrolled at birth will receive a total of 60 books, according to Daily Reporter archives.
The program costs $26 per child per year, officials said.
This year’s fundraiser will be hard-pressed to beat the total raised last year: the week-long event raised $61,900 through a combination of dine-and-donate evenings, contests, fundraisers and a 50 percent match from an anonymous donor. However, organizers have high hopes.
An anonymous donor again will provide a 50 percent match for up to $25,000 and has challenged the community to meet that amount, said community foundation president Mary Gibble.
“I know they can do it, but that match is certainly a wonderful incentive,” she said.
Imagination Library was brought to the community in 2015 after literacy assessments given by county educators showed some 40 percent of county children scored below kindergarten readiness literacy standards, according to Daily Reporter archives.
The community foundation is working with the community to build a $2 million endowment over five years to cover book expenses and sustain the Imagination Library program. A $2 million endowment will generate enough funding for 3,500 children to receive 12 books per year before the child’s fifth birthday. Some $1.2 million has been raised since November 2015, according to Daily Reporter archives.
The foundation encourages donations of all sizes, starting at $26 — the cost of providing books to one child for a year.
Reading together not only bolsters the bonds between parent and child, but looking at books, holding books and hearing their parents read to them helps babies’ brains develop, said Hancock County Public Library assistant director Barb Roark in 2017.
Gibble said reading together provides opportunities to spend time together, talk about shapes and learn how to interact with books. One of the most basic skills students learn in kindergarten is how to hold a book and turn the pages, which some students come to kindergarten not knowing how to do, she said.
“Unfortunately, there are so many children without books in the home,” she said. “But we are going to change that with the Imagination Library.”
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The following local restaurants will host dine-to-donate fundraisers benefiting Imagination Library:
Sept. 18
Taxman, 29 S. Main St., Fortville — 4-10 p.m.
They will donate 10 percent of bill. Must present flyer.
Dairy Queen, 801 W. Main St., Greenfield — 4 p.m.-Close.
They will donate 10 percent of their sales to Imagination Library. No flyer needed.
Sept. 19
Dairy Queen, 346 W. Broadway, Fortville – Noon-9 p.m.
They will donate 10 percent of their sales to Imagination Library. No flyer needed.
Sept. 20
Culver’s Restaurant, 1846 N. State St., Greenfield – 5-8 p.m.
They will donate a percentage of all sales to Imagination Library for dine in sales.
No flyer needed.
Sept. 17-21
Broadway Diner, 426 E. Broadway, Fortville
Donations for Train Cars
They will have train cars to write name on and donate a dollar or more. These will be posted in the restaurant during the week. They will also have a donation bucket.
All month:
Indulge, 10 S. Main St., Fortville
They will donate $1 for each "Pink Elephant, Wooly Mammoth, or Fluff a Lump" purchased during the month.
Enrollment information can be found at givehcgrowhc.org or hcplibrary.org.
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