Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library comes to Cassville, Exeter
December 29, 2021
Shown above, left to right, Kiley Stringer (with daughter, Adley), Teresa Phillips (with granddaughter, Regan) and Tori Phillips (with daughter, Kennedy) are instrumental in bringing Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to children ages 5 and younger who live in Cassville and Exeter.
Sheila Harris
Thanks to the efforts of Teresa Phillips, of Exeter, and Community Faith Chapel in Cassville, there’s soon to be a new library in town for children ages birth through age five.
“I read about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library on Facebook,” Phillips said, “but when I went online to see if my granddaughters were eligible for the free, monthly book program, I discovered that nobody in Barry County was eligible.”
In fact, according to Phillips, very few children in southwest Missouri are eligible, except for some in Greene, Stone and Taney Counties, where the Imagination Library is championed by public libraries, schools, and United Way.
“A 501c3 umbrella is necessary for the library to operate,” said Phillips, “because donor support is required in order to provide the books to children at no cost to their families.”
The Imagination Library is designed to inspire a love for reading in kids, and was created 20 years ago by Dolly Parton in honor of her father, who, in spite of being intelligent and a hard worker, had never learned to read nor write.
Parton first initiated the program in her home county of Sevier in Tennessee, but it has since expanded around the world and serves over one million children.
Dolly Parton believes that if you can read, you can do anything, dream anything and be anything. Through the Imagintion Library, her hope is to ensure that all children have books in their homes, regardless of the environment in which they live.
The Imagination Library partners with local communities to provide a free, high-quality book each month to registered children from birth to age five. The books are hand-selected by a committee of early childhood experts to be age-appropriate and align with the child’s developmental needs.
Phillips likes the fact that books are addressed and mailed to each child.
“It gives them something to look forward to and get excited about every month,” she said.
The Dollywood Foundation covers program overheads by providing the custom-built Book Order System and coordinating the book selection, procurement and fulfillment processes. In addition, the Dollywood Foundation purchases high-quality, customized books at scale, significantly reducing cost.
Funders and local partners are then asked to cover the at-cost book and mailing expenses for children registered in their area.
This approach and model helped the Imagination Library receive a “Best Practice Award” from the U.S. Library of Congress for addressing social barriers to literacy.
Phillips said, due to the efforts required to solicit local funding and due to the limited amount of time she has, she initially thought to institute the program only for children within the zip code of her hometown of Exeter. However, because the program requires a 501c3 umbrella, which was kindly provided by Pastor Rick Cooper and her home congregation of Faith Community Chapel in Cassville, she and fellow organizers are opting to also offer the program to children within Cassville’s zip code.
The program is scheduled to launch in Cassville and Exeter on January 4, with online registration available at that time at imaginationlibrary.com.
An in-person registration event organized by CS Designs, Decor & More is scheduled for January 8, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m., at Diva Bling & The Tiny Highlander Boutique at 201 E. Fifth Street in Cassville.
“We’ll have 20 sample books available at the event for parents to view,” Phillips said. “They’ll represent books that children will receive across the birth to age five spectrum.”
Phillips says a monthly book will be received by a child about six to eight weeks after registration.
Phillips will be looking for sponsors for The Imagination Library in the Cassville and Exeter areas and beyond.
According to her research, there are currently 714 children age five and under within the Cassville zip code and 119 within the Exeter mailing area. The Dollywood Foundation estimates that about 60 percent of the children in areas where the library is available will become registered, and the estimated cost of the program is $25 per year, per child who is registered. Individuals or businesses may donate through the Imagination Library’s website at imaginationlibrary.com and selecting the affiliate’s code:
MO-MOEXETERCASSVILLE.
More information can be found on Facebook at Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library - Cassville/Exeter, MO, or by emailing ECDPIL@yahoo.com.
Phillips says she’s also open to assistance from any volunteers in the community who would like to help get this program off the ground for area children.
Thanks to the efforts of Teresa Phillips, of Exeter, and Community Faith Chapel in Cassville, there’s soon to be a new library in town for children ages birth through age five.
“I read about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library on Facebook,” Phillips said, “but when I went online to see if my granddaughters were eligible for the free, monthly book program, I discovered that nobody in Barry County was eligible.”
In fact, according to Phillips, very few children in southwest Missouri are eligible, except for some in Greene, Stone and Taney Counties, where the Imagination Library is championed by public libraries, schools, and United Way.
“A 501c3 umbrella is necessary for the library to operate,” said Phillips, “because donor support is required in order to provide the books to children at no cost to their families.”
The Imagination Library is designed to inspire a love for reading in kids, and was created 20 years ago by Dolly Parton in honor of her father, who, in spite of being intelligent and a hard worker, had never learned to read nor write.
Parton first initiated the program in her home county of Sevier in Tennessee, but it has since expanded around the world and serves over one million children.
Dolly Parton believes that if you can read, you can do anything, dream anything and be anything. Through the Imagintion Library, her hope is to ensure that all children have books in their homes, regardless of the environment in which they live.
The Imagination Library partners with local communities to provide a free, high-quality book each month to registered children from birth to age five. The books are hand-selected by a committee of early childhood experts to be age-appropriate and align with the child’s developmental needs.
Phillips likes the fact that books are addressed and mailed to each child.
“It gives them something to look forward to and get excited about every month,” she said.
The Dollywood Foundation covers program overheads by providing the custom-built Book Order System and coordinating the book selection, procurement and fulfillment processes. In addition, the Dollywood Foundation purchases high-quality, customized books at scale, significantly reducing cost.
Funders and local partners are then asked to cover the at-cost book and mailing expenses for children registered in their area.
This approach and model helped the Imagination Library receive a “Best Practice Award” from the U.S. Library of Congress for addressing social barriers to literacy.
Phillips said, due to the efforts required to solicit local funding and due to the limited amount of time she has, she initially thought to institute the program only for children within the zip code of her hometown of Exeter. However, because the program requires a 501c3 umbrella, which was kindly provided by Pastor Rick Cooper and her home congregation of Faith Community Chapel in Cassville, she and fellow organizers are opting to also offer the program to children within Cassville’s zip code.
The program is scheduled to launch in Cassville and Exeter on January 4, with online registration available at that time at imaginationlibrary.com.
An in-person registration event organized by CS Designs, Decor & More is scheduled for January 8, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m., at Diva Bling & The Tiny Highlander Boutique at 201 E. Fifth Street in Cassville.
“We’ll have 20 sample books available at the event for parents to view,” Phillips said. “They’ll represent books that children will receive across the birth to age five spectrum.”
Phillips says a monthly book will be received by a child about six to eight weeks after registration.
Phillips will be looking for sponsors for The Imagination Library in the Cassville and Exeter areas and beyond.
According to her research, there are currently 714 children age five and under within the Cassville zip code and 119 within the Exeter mailing area. The Dollywood Foundation estimates that about 60 percent of the children in areas where the library is available will become registered, and the estimated cost of the program is $25 per year, per child who is registered. Individuals or businesses may donate through the Imagination Library’s website at imaginationlibrary.com and selecting the affiliate’s code:
MO-MOEXETERCASSVILLE.
More information can be found on Facebook at Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library - Cassville/Exeter, MO, or by emailing ECDPIL@yahoo.com.
Phillips says she’s also open to assistance from any volunteers in the community who would like to help get this program off the ground for area children.