Manchester’s Dolly Parton Imagination Library has a new partner
submitted by Manchester Chapter of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library
The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is an early childhood book-gifting program. Since 2019 Manchester has had a chapter of this program, providing one book a month to children ages zero to five in the Manchester area, mailed directly to them and with no limits on income or need. Recently they needed to find a new 501(c)(3) partner or would lose their authorization to mail books to the children for free.
Shannon Brown started this program with just a few modest donations in late 2019. The Manchester Ladies Society volunteered to serve as their 501(c)(3) partner, with their major fiscal partners at the time being the Manchester Men’s Club, the Manchester District Library, and C A Brown contracting. They started accepting applications, and by January 2020 the books began to ship!
The Ladies Society has since disbanded and the Manchester Imagination Library chapter was on the verge of losing their ability to mail the books. That’s when the Mirror came in. Having reached out to the Mirror looking for alternative suggestions to the Ladies Society, the Mirror instead offered to quickly step in as the 501(c)(3) partner so not even a month of mailings was missed, again proving this community can provide for one another.
Many smaller programs lost funding during the pandemic and couldn’t continue. With the love and support of the community, the Manchester chapter not only survived the pandemic, but saw continued growth!
From the beginning, the Manchester District Library’s board and director, Kathy Dimond, have been huge supporters and cheerleaders for the program, not only funding the program every year, but allowing enrollment to happen at the front desk of the library.
Brown stated, “I am very thankful every day for the unwavering support of Kathy Dimond, the library board, and the staff continuing to introduce children and families to the program. Without their financial support and continued cheering on, we may have had to end the program like many others in Washtenaw county.” She also thanked an anonymous donor who has supported the program for years without fail.
Brown concluded, “Our program has survived many tests and I’m looking forward to being able to hit the 10-year mark!”
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