Launched in 1995, the Dolly Parton Imagination Library has helped put books in the hands of children from birth to the age of five, regardless of family income, across the country and even as far afield as the United Kingdom and Australia.

In Ogden, one organization that has partnered with the Imagination Library is Weber State University’s Family Literacy Program.

“The Weber State University Family Literacy Program provides low-income families in Weber and Davis Counties with parenting strategies and support at no cost,” the program’s website reads. “We help families to increase learning and engagement with their children and offer services in both English and Spanish.”

According to WSU Family Literacy Program Director Paul Schvaneveldt, the WSU program serves 150 families in Weber and Davis counties and that the program has served over 4,000 families and over 10,000 children since its inception in 2006.

“Through a partnership with the Dollywood Foundation, families participating in the Family Literacy Program can also benefit from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which delivers free books to your home each month,” he told the Standard-Examiner in an email. “It helps further the mission of the WSU Family Literacy Program, giving more families books to read with their young children.”

He said that this partnership has been huge for the Family Literacy Program.

“The Family Literacy Program aims to help families learn and engage more with their children, and the Imagination Library means kids have continuous access to age-appropriate books at home,” he said. “When families have tools and help learning skills, their kids build better literacy skills, vocabulary, and neural pathways that prepare a child for success in school and life.”

Schvaneveldt praised the work that Parton has done for literacy and hopes the recent news shines a light on projects to promote literacy locally.

“Dolly Parton’s devotion to children’s literacy left a mark on communities all over, including ours,” he said. “As more reflect on her legacy, they may also rediscover programs or initiatives she championed. Hopefully, that means even more families will see that WSU’s Family Literacy Program is here to support them.”

He said continued community support has been huge for the Family Literacy Program.

“Community support and generous donations help the Family Literacy Program continue to make a difference in communities,” he said. “In fact, a private gift 40 years ago prompted the start of this program. We also continuously work with community partners, like the Children’s Treehouse Museum and the Utah STEM Action Center, which helps grow the program’s reach and impact.”

Schvaneveldt added that the Family Literacy program and programs like it can greatly benefit kids as they embark on their journey of learning.

“Annual Family Literacy Program evaluations show it makes a lasting difference,” he said. “Participating families see a significant increase in shared reading time, improved parent-child communication, higher emergent literacy skills in children, and reduced use of harsh discipline. Most importantly, a longitudinal study showed these positive impacts persist for more than five years after families complete the program, proving that early intervention creates meaningful, lasting change.”

For more information on WSU’s Family Literacy Program and to apply, visit https://www.weber.edu/familyliteracy/

For more information on the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, visit https://imaginationlibrary.com/.