The Imagination Library of Marion County received a $2,500 donation from the Weiler Foundation, enabling the literacy program to continue into the first part of 2024.

The program gifts books to area children ages 0-5. The Weiler Foundation, together with the Vermeer Charitable Foundation, also provided the main seed money to get the program off the ground this past spring. The program has mailed out over 1,000 books to local children, with more on the way.

Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become the preeminent early childhood book-gifting program in the world. The flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has gifted over 200 million free books worldwide. This is achieved through funding shared by The Dollywood Foundation and Local Community Partners like the Weiler Foundation. The Imagination Library mails more than 2 million high-quality, age-appropriate books directly to children’s homes each month. Each child enrolled in the program receives one book per month from birth to age five – at no cost to families. Dolly envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading and inspiring children to Dream More, Learn More, Care More and Be More.

This program is unique in that every cent donated to the local branch stays in this community. 100% of every donation goes to paying for books. Imagination Library of Marion County, IA is actively seeking donations. Interested donors should contact Amy Uthus at 515-777-8370 or ImaginationLibraryMCIA@gmail.com. All donations are tax deductible.

For more information, visit imaginationlibrary.com.