Dollywood’s Imagination Library visits Weiser Library

Published by admin on Wed, 11/20/2024 - 7:00pm

Some of the Treasure Valley’s Junior Jammers fiddle group entertained at the Weiser Public Library during storytime last Thursday. From left, Libby Rogers, Vanessa Gridasova, Victoria Gridasova, Daniella Gridasova, and Jetta Brooks. The Jammers presented their annual Country Harvest Hoedown in Kuna on Saturday. Photo by Philip A. Janquart
By: 
Philip A. Janquart
Story time at the Weiser Public Library took on a bit of a different look last week.
 Representatives of Dollywood’s Imagination Library, a program that helps parents connect with their children through reading, were on hand to share time with kids and to sign up new participants.
 There was also a group of young fiddlers who provided live entertainment to about 35 kids and their parents.
 About 10 families took advantage of the opportunity to receive free books.
 “We are a community-based book giving program for kids from birth to age five, and we send high-quality, age-appropriate books out to families; all they need to do is sign up,” explained Dollywood Foundation Regional Director Michelle Anthony who flew in from Tennessee to attend the Nov. 13 event. 
 “Today, we are really just spreading awareness to the community that we exist. We wanted to give the kids a chance to come to the library – because the library is a big part of what we do – and just enjoy the moment, a little bit of story time. We read Coat of Many Colors, which was written by Dolly Parton. The craft that we have going on in the back, the kids are making their own little coats of many colors.”
 Parton’s story revolves around a coat that her mother made for her when she was a young child. Because the family was poor, her mother was forced to use material from a baby blanket that belonged to her infant brother who died. She was harassed over it by bullies at school.
 A made-for-television drama, based on the true story, was broadcast on NBC in December 2015.
 The event at the Weiser Library was part of a broader effort to raise awareness of the book-giving program in Washington, Payette and Malheur counties, according to area Imagination Library Volunteer Coordinator Kelly Poe who added that reading is one of the most important ways a parent can establish meaningful interaction with their child.
 “Some of this is my own opinion and some of this is based on proven research, but really that interaction between a child, especially an infant, a newborn baby … the sound of their parent’s voice and eye contact and all of that is really important, really critical for the brain development of the child.
 “That interaction builds both a bond with the parent and it builds brain development and starts those early stages of literacy and all the wiring that takes place in your brain that you use for the rest of your life. It certainly helps us get children ready for kindergarten and, even more important, it helps build a relationship between a child and a caring adult.”
 Poe noted that bonding and interaction happen even before birth.
 “There is a cadence in your voice; there is the sound of pronouncing our English language; there is a lot that goes on when the child is in the womb,” she said. “People talk about how the first 2,000 days are critical for a child, well those 2,000 days start at conception because that brain is developing.”
 The program has been available in Malheur County since 2017 when the Ontario Library became an affiliate for the program.
 Four Rivers Healthy Community is now the “back bone” affiliate organization for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and has been working to expand into Washington and Payette counties for about the last four years.
 Currently, the program serves about 45 percent of children ages 0-5 in Washington County.
 “In January, we were at 148 children signed up, and that was about 26 percent,” she noted. “We have since moved to 45 percent of those children; that’s huge in one year.”
 Parents can sign up to receive one free book per month and there is no cost to families.
 There is a cost, however, for Four Rivers Healthy Community, which must hold fundraisers and write grants to cover the cost of the books.
 “Dollywood invoices us once a month before they mail out the books and they charge us,” Poe explained. “It’s an average and it’s a really legitimate average of $2.20 per book. That’s just our share of the cost of the books because Dolly Parton pays for most of it.”
 That nominal charge, Poe said in 2022, was to cover postage.
 Though low, the cost does add up.
 “We have 2,000 kids and if you multiply that by $2.20, that’s our amount every month,” she said.
 That adds up to over $50,000 per year.
 Last week, also on Nov. 13, Poe and her band of volunteers held a Meet and Greet fundraiser at Orchard Hall in Fruitland, raising about $10,000.
 “It went great,” she said. “It would be cool if we could raise $20,000 a year from local fundraising efforts and then fill the rest with grants, but it has to be a mix of the two.”
 For more information, call Kelly Poe at (208) 230-0648, email her at kelly@4rhc.org or visit www.imaginationlibrary.com.
 

 

Category:

Signal American

18 E. Idaho St.
Weiser, ID 83672
PH: (208) 549-1717
FAX: (208) 549-1718
 

Connect with Us