CUMBERLAND — October is National Book Month, an annual celebration launched in 2003 by the National Book Foundation to highlight the vital role books play in people’s lives around the world. The Imagination Library of Allegany County is sharing in that mission by helping local children develop a lifelong love of reading.
Since 2011, the Imagination Library of Allegany County has offered every child from birth to age 5 the opportunity to receive a free, age-appropriate book mailed directly to their home each month — addressed personally to the child.
The program is part of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a book gifting initiative created in 1988 by Parton to inspire a passion for reading, improve educational success and reduce dropout rates in her home county in Tennessee.
While the Dollywood Foundation selects and donates the books, local affiliates like the Imagination Library of Allegany County raise the funds necessary to cover mailing costs. With the increase in postage, mailing costs are now nearly $35 per child per year for a total cost of $63,000.
Nearly 1,700 Allegany County children receive books through the program every month.
Parents can register their children online at imaginationlibrary.com, through community partner organizations or by contacting the United Way of Allegany County at 301-722-2700.
Donations to the local Imagination Library program are tax-deductible. Contributions can be made payable to Let’s Read Allegany County United Way and mailed to County United Way, 217 N. Centre St., Suite 300, Cumberland, MD 21502
Donations can also be made online at cuw.org.