GREENFIELD — The Hancock County Community Foundation has reached a longtime goal: Its endowment for the county’s Imagination Library program is now $2 million.
The foundation announced the milestone at its annual Celebration of Philanthropy Thursday, Nov. 14. The foundation has been raising money for Imagination Library since 2015. The program, operated by Dolly Parton’s Dollywood Foundation, allows children to receive one book per month from birth until age 5, and is funded in part by local partner organizations.
Foundation president Mary Gibble said profits from the endowment will allow it to fund books for 80 percent of Hancock County children for the foreseeable future. The Dollywood Foundation has found that most communities enroll about 60 percent of young children.
Gibble said the foundation began pursuing the program because of low reading skills among kindergartners in the county and is gratified that fundraising efforts have been so successful.
“We know that we can do better and we can provide resources that help facilitate learning,” Gibble said.