Lifeline's Lake County Imagination Library returns for third year

Dec. 3—This holiday season, Lifeline, Inc., Lake County's community action agency, has set a goal of raising $6,000 for the Lake County Imagination Library — enough to pay for books for all enrolled children for January, officials report.

Launched in 2020, Lifeline's Lake County Imagination Library is an affiliate of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Ohio and the international Dolly Parton Imagination Library.

To improve kindergarten readiness, instill a love of learning and bolster literacy rates, the program provides one new book each month mailed to enrolled children under the age of 5 at no charge to the family.

"We just launched in late 2020, so we're heading into our third full year," said Lifeline Executive Director Carrie Dotson. "And these free books can make a big difference for children as they prepare for kindergarten and life."

According to the Imagination Library, by the age of 3, a child's brain is already 80 percent developed, and by the time a child enters kindergarten, they already know thousands of words.

Additional 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 the home.

A report by the Ohio Governor's Imagination Library suggests that there are men and women throughout Ohio who struggle to read food labels, prescription directions, and bus schedules — each being one of 36 million American adults who are considered functionally illiterate.

A child who can't read is four times more likely to drop out of high school before graduation. Ohio's Future at Work found that 24 percent of adults don't have a high school diploma.

Additionally, Seeds of Literacy found that 87 percent of the jobs available on OhioMeansJobs.com are closed to someone without a high school diploma, "dramatically reducing the chances of someone who is functionally illiterate finding a job that will give them the independence to support themselves and their families."

Through programs like Imagination Library, there is a path out of generational poverty through increased literacy opportunities for children, Dotson emphasized.

"We're so excited to join partners throughout Lake County, as well as with the Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Ohio and Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, to provide free books to Lake County's children," she said. "We often work with adults who struggle with functional illiteracy and we know how many challenges that can present for them. If we can help prevent that, we're thrilled to be able to do so."

Lifeline actively outreaches and enrolls new children weekly and then each month places the book order for all of our kids and pays the invoices, Dotson added.

Currently, over 5,700 Lake County children receive a new book each month. Lifeline splits the cost of each book with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Ohio.

All funds raised through the holiday giving program will directly benefit Lake County's enrolled children.

Lifeline's Imagination Library is supported by the United Way of Lake County, The Lubrizol Foundation and many private donors.

Parton started the Imagination Library in Sevier County, Tennessee, in 1995 as a way of encouraging reading and childhood literacy. In the past 25 years, the program has spread across the country and overseas to the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland with the help of local champions.

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Ohio was inspired by First Lady Fran DeWine's passion to improve the lives of Ohio's children and her own family's experiences with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.

Families can register to receive books at www.lclifeline.org/imagination-library/ by clicking the Enroll Today button or by contacting Program Coordinator Rebekah Jones at Lifeline at 440-354-2148.

Those who wish to donate to the Imagination Library in Lake County can mail a check payable to Lifeline's Imagination Library to PO Box 496 in Painesville, Ohio 44077 or give at www.lclifeline.org/imagination-library/ by using the Donate button on the Imagination Library page. The gift is for the Imagination Library in the comments.

Dotson noted a gift of $25 will provide books for an entire year to two Lake County children, while a $100 donation will provide books for an entire year to eight Lake County children.