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The Dolly Parton Imagination Library was founded in 1995, with the goal of providing books and encouraging literacy to children. The program supplies free books to children every month from birth to the age of five. When Bainbridge native Patty Hamilton lived in Tennessee, her children were recipients of the program. Upon moving back to Decatur County, she realized that the program wasn’t offered here, and began looking for a way to change that. She would end up partnering with the local Family Connection in 2022 to finally make it a reality. Now, in the three years since launch, the program has passed a milestone and delivered books to over 1,000 children in Decatur County.

Currently, the program has 720 children enrolled, with 287 children having graduated after turning five.

“Literacy rates are okay for Decatur County,” said Ronnie Burke, Family Connection Coordinator, “but they’re lower than the state average. Third-grade reading scores are probably the most important indicator for later success in school than anything else… So early literacy has been proven by research, over and over again, just how important it is.”

The program is partnered with Memorial Hospital and Manor, having distributed 760 books to babies born at the hospital.

The program is funded through donations; for anyone interested in making a donation, contact Decatur County Family Connection. For parents interested in signing their children up for the program, visit http://www.imaginationlibrary.com/