The Jones Trust Foundation has announced a major gift to help provide books to the Emporia area’s smallest readers.
United Way of the Flint Hills Executive Director Jami Reever made the announcement during KVOE’s Newsmaker 2 program Tuesday.
The Dolly Parton Imagination Library started in the Emporia area in 2013 thanks to generous support from the Jones Trust as well as the Capital Federal Foundation, the Hopkins Foundation and the Trusler Foundation. Reever says this $50,000 donation helps put a book in a child’s hand each month from the time they are born until age 5.
Reever says the quality of books also is impressive.
Currently, there are about 1,700 kids in six counties receive books from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. The program was started by the country music star in 1995 and today provides more than one million books annually worldwide to children regardless of income.
