In 1995, Dolly Parton launched her Imagination Library in Sevier County, Tennessee, where she was born and raised. Inspired by her own father’s inability to read or write, she determined that there had to be a way to help children fall in love with books.

The program sends free books to children from birth to five, and helps inspire a love of reading in the lives of children. Since the program’s launch, it has seen great success. The program has expanded nation-wide, and now includes Canada, Great Britain, and Australia! As of April 2019, over 119 million books have been mailed to over 1.4 million children.

This no-cost program is available for any family with children 0-5 years of age. The Cheyenne County affiliate is the Greater Northwest Community Foundation, which can assist you in signing up your children for this program. You can also visit The Imagination Library website to sign-up as well!

The Dollywood Foundation administers the program including administrative costs, book selection, postage, and technical support. In Northwest Kansas, the Dane G. Hansen Foundation covers the cost of the books. Local affiliate partners take care of registration for the individual counties. A list of the local affiliates by county is available online at www.NWKansasReads.org.