Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Community Partners
United Way of Jefferson County
Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County
Buckeye Local
Edison Local
Em Media
Help Me Grow
Indian Creek
JC Educational Service Center
Trinity Health Systems
The UPS Store
WIC
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
FREE Books Mailed To Your Children
We are community strong. A collaborative effort has been made for Jefferson County’s children to receive free books at home, as part of the Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library. PLSJ and several other area agencies, schools, and businesses are committed too.
The program is an extension of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. One book a month is mailed to families of children from birth to five years of age. Each child who is registered will receive a book. So if a family with three children registers each child, then all three will receive a new book each month addressed and mailed to them personally. The cost is $25 per child. Governor Mike DeWine and his wife established state-match funding through 2021. Gulfport Energy Corporation is committed to funding for three years to Jefferson County residents.
A child who can’t read well is four times more likely to drop out of high school before graduation. Ohio’s Future at Work found that in the state of Ohio, 24% of adults do not have a high school diploma. Developing literacy begins at birth. Through the Ohio Governor’s partnership with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, the Governor is working to send every child in Ohio from birth to age five a new book each month. Research has shown that a child with 25 books in their home complete an average of two additional years of schooling compared to their peers without books in their home.
United Way of Jefferson County is administering the program. Families can register their children at all library branches, partnering agencies, or the United Way website, www.unitedway-jc.org