DECATUR COUNTY, GA (WTXL) — Families in Decatur County are honoring the late Dolly Parton by signing up for her Imagination Library program in larger numbers, as organizers work to close a local reading gap that falls below state and national averages.
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Parton launched the Imagination Library in 1995. The program came to Decatur County in 2022 and has since mailed more than 25,000 hardcover books to local homes.
The program currently sends more than 725 books every month to children from birth to age 5. Community partners — including Decatur County Family Connection, Memorial Hospital and Manor, and First Port City Bank — help sustain the effort. Imagination Library covers the cost of the books, while Decatur County Family Connection covers shipping costs.
Organizers say about 1,300 children in Decatur County have received at least one book, roughly 500 have graduated from the program, and local registrations have nearly doubled since Parton's passing.
The program aims to improve regional reading rates, which currently sit below state and national averages.
Families can enroll children from birth to age 5 at the Imagination Library website. Those who want to support shipping costs can donate directly to Decatur County Family Connection.
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