On January 19th, 2021, Dolly Parton’s 75th Birthday, a committed group of local book lovers and mothers partnered with the Rotary Club of Leesburg to launch the Imagination Library of Loudoun - Roots Grow Wings nonprofit organization. The mission of the Imagination Library of Loudoun is simple--inspire a lifelong love of learning by fostering greater connections and compassion through reading. By establishing a library in every child’s home, we will nurture their roots to grow wings. 25 years ago in her home of Sevier County, Tennessee, Dolly Parton launched this program to provide a library of books to children, regardless of socioeconomic background, in an attempt to give them all an equal start entering Kindergarten. This team of visionaries was motivated by the pandemic’s intrinsic need for books in all homes and inspired by Dolly’s 150 million books distributed since its inception to bring this amazing program to their own community.
“Research shows that children who are read to and exposed to high quality books are better positioned to become lifelong learners, further developing skills in critical thinking, imagination, and management of emotions,” said Ashleigh Dickerson, third grade teacher at Round Hill Elementary and founding team member. Each child starts with the same book, “The Little Engine That Could” and ends with the same book, “Look Out Kindergarten, Here I come!,” unifying children through stories. The Rotary Club of Leesburg eagerly adopted this project, stepping in “not just as a partner, but as genuine supporters and generous mentors. Rotary International’s service mission is inspiring, and The Rotary Club of Leesburg shines that mission forward,” said Sue Lyons, Reading Specialist at Emerick Elementary and founding team member. This book gifting program is completely free to recipients living in the areas covered by the local zip codes 20132 (Hillsboro, St. Louis, Purcellville), 20160 (Lincoln), 20131 (Philomont) and 20117/8 (Middleburg). The Imagination Library of Loudoun - Roots Grow Wings is fully funded by donations and grants and is hoping to grow to additional zip codes in Loudoun.
To learn more about the Imagination Library of Loudoun - Roots Grow Wings or make a donation to the program, please visit www.rootsgrowwings.org or email us at rootsgrowwings@gmail.com.
About Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become the preeminent early childhood book gifting program in the world. The flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation has gifted well over 150 million free books in Australia, Canada, The Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom and the United States. The Imagination Library mails more than 1.7 million high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to registered children from birth to age five. Dolly envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading, inspiring them to dream. The impact of the program has been widely researched and results suggest positive increases in key early childhood literacy metrics. Penguin Random House is the exclusive publisher for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. For more information, please visit imaginationlibrary.com.
