What started as one woman’s appreciation for classic country music has since turned into initiating a powerful development program for children in the state of Delaware.
Deanne Welsh, a mother who lives in Millsboro, has teamed up with Long Neck Elementary School teacher Julie Beebe to bring Imagination Library to the Indian River School District. Through the program, started in 1996 by country music legend Dolly Parton, any child within the school district who is younger than 5 can receive age-appropriate books each month for free, which are designed to aid the child’s literacy and vocabulary before they even start kindergarten.
With the recent addition of the Indian River School District, Imagination Library now touches the lives of children in 44 states in the U.S., as well as in two other countries.
The nonprofit organization began in 1996 in Parton’s home state of Tennessee. She set her focus on providing developmental reading material for families and children in Sevier County, where she grew up.
Since then, the Imagination Library has stretched across the country and to Canada and the United Kingdom, providing families with a new book by Penguin Publications each month to be read to and with their children.
Before starting up in school, children involved with the foundation receive a hard-backed book each month leading up to their fifth birthday, potentially accumulating 60 books, absolutely free. Studies have shown that reading these books help children expand their attentiveness and improve their communication skills before they even hit kindergarten.
During a family trip to Parton’s Tennessee theme park, Dollywood, Deanne Welsh personally met the singer and was introduced to her newest project. Welsh, a long-time Parton fan, also met the foundation’s executive director, David Dotson, who encouraged her to start up Imagination Library in Delaware.
Welsh took the idea to the Long Neck Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization, where Long Neck teacher Beebe took notice of the program, and in October 2006, the idea became a reality. The Long Neck PTO Imagination Library became the first branch of the foundation in the entire state of Delaware, with plenty of potential for expansion.
“We’d like to take it at least countywide,” said Welsh, “and eventually statewide. We’re awaiting response from several state agencies and businesses for funding.”
Welsh, a bank officer at Wilmington Trust Bank, helps organize the financial portion of the program.
“We need all the money we can get,” she said. “It’s not always easy when it’s just the two of us, but it’s definitely something that can catch on.”
“It’s been scary starting this with just the two of us,” said Beebe, “and very frustrating at times, but it’s also very rewarding.”
An area businessman, who wished to remain anonymous, has pledged to match 50 cents to every dollar raised for the foundation in the Indian River School District.
As a teacher for 23 years, Beebe said she appreciates the benefits that such a program can have on children.
“It’s all part of the learning process,” she said. “Children can learn a lot through what’s being read to them, but it’s not just reading skills. They learn about different places around the world, different cultures.”
The first book children receive is “The Little Engine that Could,” Dolly Parton’s favorite book when she was a little girl. Inside, a welcome letter is addressed to the new child and their family. Early books in the program focus on shapes, colors and other developmental topics. As they get older, other themes start to appear, such as friendship. Children can begin recognizing words and letters, and even start to read along by age 3.
“The Penguin Book actually has qualified children’s literacy experts and they pick the books based on different merits,” Welsh explained. “There is a panel of professionals who know what’s best to help children develop. They want each book to be a learning tool, but also enjoyable.”
Scientific research concerning the effectiveness of the Imagination Library has been done since the program first began. They have concluded that the program can be instrumental in getting children ready for school and keeping them in school.
“If they’ve been read to on this program, they have the vocabulary of a 10-year-old by the time they it kindergarten,” Beebe added. “But if they are not read to, they have the vocabulary of a 2-year-old. A lot of teachers and parents wonder in kindergarten why there’s that learning gap.
“Deanne’s seen a child pick up a book at 5 years old and not know which way a book opens. There are other communities that have done all kinds of research, and this program helps the child reach that proper grade level by the time they start school. The child is ready.”
The program itself has been proven in studies to not only improve children’s development, but also tie parents and children closer.
“It really gets families back to being together,” said Welsh. “Parents need to read the books to their babies. I think a lot of families have lost that connection. People don’t think that infants need a book read to them, but they do, even if for nothing else, just to hear their voice. It’s a lot more important than most people realize.”
Monetary donations constantly help with the foundation. For example, $27 will help fund an entire year for a child in the program, and $100 will nearly support reading material for four children, or basically cover the costs for one child through the entire program.
“It practically sells itself,” said Welsh. “Every book the child receives is brand new. These aren’t old books handed down. It’s such a good deal. You can’t go to the bookstore and buy a book for your child for $2.”
A new book enters the program roughly every six months, and nearly a dozen books are now rotated through in both English and Spanish. According to the postmaster who deals with shipments out of the foundation’s headquarters in Tennessee, noted Welsh, 400,000 books are mailed each month to children across the country and into Canada.
Those enrolled in the program are giving feedback to Welsh and Beebe about the results.
“I’ve known people who have been on the program for a couple months,” Welsh said, “and they love the fact that the book comes to the house, and the child enjoys getting the books each month. They say their children get so excited when a new book comes in the mail, they just have to read it as soon as they get in the house. The families are very appreciative of what the program does.”
Currently, 272 children in the Indian River School District are part of the program, accounting for 50 more who have signed on since September of 2007. From the time Welsh and Beebe started in October 2006 with only 10 children, they have witnessed a positive reception throughout the community.
“We’d like to see more families join the program,” said Beebe. “Some people swear they’re going to get a bill and haven’t joined, but it’s absolutely free.”
Others who have helped initiate the program are pleased with the advancement it has seen over the past decade.
“Our goal at Imagination Library is to expand the program as far and wide as we can,” said Christy Crouse, eastern regional director of the foundation. “It’s always very exciting to move into a new community, let alone a new state. We’re thrilled to be working with the Indian River School District, and it’s very rewarding to see the acceptance in a new area. I think people realize the foundation is very close-knit and once they become part of it, they are embraced by such a wonderful group.”
In addition to spreading into Canada in 2006, Imagination Library has made a presence overseas, too. Just this past year, the foundation stretched to the United Kingdom.
“In 2008,” Crouse added, “we just want to keep growing, keep branching out and making communities and people aware of what’s out there for their children, not only nationwide, but worldwide, too.”
The program is available for all children throughout the Indian River School District who are younger than 5. Because it typically takes a month or two for a child’s registration to be processed, and an additional month for the first book to be sent out, though, the program is most often recommended for those who are 4 or younger when they sign up.
For information about the program, visit the Web site at www.imaginationlibrary.com.
Parents and families wishing to enroll in the program can do so by visiting the Web site or contacting Welsh at deew424@verizon.net or Beebe at jbeebe@irsd.k12.de.us.
Businesses, communities and individuals who would like to make a donation to the Imagination Library can e-mail Welsh or Beebe or call them at (302) 228-4599 or (302) 249-4281.