Dolly Parton child book gifting program headed to the Latrobe area

A free book every month is on the horizon for children in the Latrobe area thanks to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and community support.

More than 400 area children from birth to age 5 could benefit from the program, regardless of family income. The Greater Latrobe Partners in Education Foundation raised $10,000 to kickstart the program in the area.

“It’s a tremendous investment from Dolly Parton and her foundation,” said Jessica Golden, executive director of the education foundation.

Golden anticipates that the foundation will share enrollment information with families “very soon” after it received school board approval Tuesday night.

Participating families will receive the age-appropriate books by mail. The program will cost the foundation $24 per child per year.

Golden, who aims to see many families take advantage of the Imagination Library, believes it is an excellent way to prepare children for kindergarten and support literacy.

“We’re hoping that it starts small and as the word spreads and more families enroll, that funding will grow,” Golden said.

Families in the Derry Area School District and Ligonier Valley School District already benefit from the program.

The Imagination Library has mailed over 180 million books to children in five countries since its inception. Parton began the program in 1995, in part due to her father’s illiteracy.

Other grants awarded

The foundation didn’t only fund the Imagination Library. During Tuesday’s school board meeting, it announced it awarded the district over $350,000 in grants and student scholarships for the 2022-23 school year.

The grants equipped the district to buy three additional school resource officer vehicles, five 3-D printers and virtual reality goggles. Funds will also support senior scholarships, teacher classrooms, career pathways programming, the fall play and spring musical, and the special education department, among other areas.

“We’re able to do what we do because of (donations and grants) like this,” Superintendent Mike Porembka said.