Eugene Public Library Foundation

Addressing a crisis in child literacy, Eugene Public Library Foundation partners with Eugene Public Library, offering Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to Eugene’s children. United Way data shows that over 50% of Eugene’s and 82% of Bethel’s incoming kindergartners do not meet the state’s early literacy benchmarks. Many cannot identify a single letter or sound. Oregon’s early literacy levels continually rank among the lowest in the country. When children fail in school, they are more likely to drop out altogether. Oregon ranks third from the bottom in high school graduation rate. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is making a difference. Children can sign up for free books from the day they are born, to age five. The book arrives by mail at the child’s home addressed to them, starting a lifelong love of reading. It empowers families to read together, without impacting the family budget. By the time they go to kindergarten, they are well on their way to reading success. We know it’s a program that will help stem the ongoing and deepening crisis of early childhood illiteracy, and help promote healthy children, healthy families, and a healthy community. Results are dramatic. We would love to tell you about it.