Imagination Library

A young mother reads a picture book to her toddler and baby by lamplight

SAVE THE DATE!

Dolly's Birthday BASH

Friday, January 19

6:30 to 10 PM, Northfield Armory

Come join us to celebrate Dolly Parton's 78th birthday in style, in this benefit for Imagination Library. Experience an evening full of, you guessed it: imagination! Cake, music, Dolly dress up contest, photo booth and auction. Every ticket funds a child to receive a year's enrollment in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library! Our Goal: fund 2000 pre-school children to get Dolly's fantastic books every month. 

Library of Congress video

Sponsor this event!

If you are a business that supports the early childhood literacy movement in Rice County, please consider sponsoring Dolly's Birthday Bash. For more information, contact Elizabeth Child, 507-664-3510 or elizbeth@ricecountyunitedway.org. Invest in the future. Invest in Imagination Library.

Sign up your child for Imagination Library books!

A Free Book Every Month

Children who are read to during the first years of life are much more likely to learn to read on schedule -- and there are many other benefits, too. 

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library helps families develop children’s early literacy skills by providing free, high-quality books to children from shortly after birth until their fifth birthday. A new, age-appropriate book arrives each month, addressed to the child. As children become old enough to understand, they are thrilled to get their monthly book in the mail.

By providing age-appropriate books each month, Imagination Library:

  • Increases young children’s access to books
  • Provides a print-rich environment in the home
  • Fosters parents and children reading together
  • Drives language and pre-literacy skills
  • Introduces shapes, colors, letters, numbers, and concepts
  • Encourages a love of reading

Sign Up!

Rice Area United Way sponsors and administers Imagination Library in the Rice County area. The program is free to families of all income levels who live in these communities: Dundas, Dennison, LeCenter, Faribault, Lonsdale, Kilkenny, Montgomery, Morristown, Nerstrand, Northfield, Warsaw and Webster.

You can register a child for Imagination Library online at ImaginationLibrary.com -- look for "Check Availability" and enter your information. Or, print and fill out our registration form (available in English or Spanish) and mail it to the address noted on the form. Books will start arriving 8-12 weeks later.

Please note that we cannot register children before they are born.

If you have any questions, contact Rice County Area United Way.

To find out if Imagination Library is offered in another region, use Imagination Library’s Find My Program  tool.

Support Imagination Library

Imagination Library is free to children, but only when caring adults donate. For $30 a child, you can sponsor a year of books! For $150 you can sponsor a child for all 5 years prior to kindergarten!

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library makes it cost effective to sponsor a child, charging just $2.10 a month per child plus the cost of brochures.

Your gift has a permanent impact on children and meets an important community need. We are proud to reach as many kids as possible by collaborating with organizations including local school districts, hospitals and clinics, ECFE, the Northfield Area Family YMCA, and Rice County Public Health. If you would like a supply of Imagination Library brochures to share with your clients or customers who have an eligible child, please let us know.

DONATE NOW. 

Special Thanks to Literacy Champions!

We would especially like to thank grantors who have made Imagination Library possible for children in Rice County:

WINGS (Women in Northfield Giving Support)

Faribault Rotary

Northfield Rotary

Allina Health

Mayo Health System

If your business would like information on becoming a lead sponsor for Imagination Library and being named on our Imagination Library brochures, please contact us