It’s been just one year since the Dolly Parton Imagination Library launched in three zip codes of Erie County but already the effort has helped provide 20,000 books to children. Now, United Way and Assemblymember Jon Rivera have expanded the book-awarding effort to include all of Erie County.
Improving literacy must be an increasing priority moving forward, Rivera said.
"This expansion is especially meaningful at a time when our nation is facing a literacy crisis," he said. "We know that too many children are arriving at kindergarten already behind, and we also know that the challenges of the (COVID-19) pandemic only widened gaps that existed long before COVID."
The initiative guarantees that any child in Erie County is eligible to receive a free book in the mail each month until they reach age 5.
Children’s early-stage literacy shouldn’t be inhibited by where they live, said Trina Burruss, CEO of United Way Buffalo and Erie County.
“At United Way, we firmly believe that a child’s zip code should not be the determining factor in whether or not they will succeed," she said. "And so that is why, along with Assemblyman Rivera, we had that goal, that it would be in every single zip code.”
Rivera adds that anyone interested can register online through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to sign up their children or become sponsors for others.
