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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE EASTERN SHORE LITERACY COUNCIL CONTACT: Rose Rulon, Executive Director, 757-789-1795 [email protected] April 10, 2025 LITERACY COUNCIL ACCEPTS NATIONAL HOME LIBRARY FOUNDATION GRANT The Eastern Shore Literacy Council announces a $5,000 grant award from The National Home Library Foundation to support the local Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library book gifting initiative. This grant award will support the monthly distribution of books to registered age-eligible children. NHLF funding has supported the distribution of more than 9,800 books to local children. More than 900 children receive a book monthly mailed directly to their home through the Imagination Library program with more than 29,000 books mailed since the Literacy Council became an Imagination Library local Program Partner. As a local Program Partner, the Eastern Shore Literacy Council promotes the program in the community, registers age-eligible children and seeks program funding support. The average retail cost of Imagination Library titles is about $14 per book. However, by purchasing in volume, the Imagination Library is able to acquire and mail customized books for about $2.60 per child per month. Cost for local program partners is about $31.00 per child annually. The National Home Library Foundation, a small private foundation founded in 1932, supports initiatives that develop, sustain and encourage literacy programs serving children, teens or adults in need of reading and learning resources, with a goal of combating illiteracy and/or encouraging an interest in reading and the literary arts for all ages. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is the flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Tennessee organization. The Imagination Library is dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by gifting FREE books to children from birth to age five. The program is made possible through funding shared by Dolly Parton herself, and local Program Partners in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and the Republic of Ireland. Inspired by her father’s inability to read and write, Dolly started the Imagination Library in 1995 to serve the children of her hometown in Sevier County, Tennessee. Today, her program spans five countries and gifts over 3 million free, high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to children around the world. There is never a charge to families who participate in the program and it is open to all children under the age of five in geographic areas with operating programs. Find out more about the Dolly Parton Imagination Library or register a child at www.imaginationlibrary.com, the Eastern Shore Literacy Council at www.shoreliteracy.org or by calling 757-789-1761.
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Literacy Council receives $1,100 from United Way
The Eastern Shore Literacy Council was recently awarded $1,100.00 from the United Way of Virginia’s Eastern Shore Community Impact Fund. The award will be used to support the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program to promote children’s literacy. Graduates of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, registered children turning five years old in 2024, will be mailed a book and card congratulating them on graduating from the program. This book will be mailed directly from the Eastern Shore Literacy Council and will add one additional free book to the child’s home library. The intended outcome is that children will continue reading and preparing for kindergarten. 430 local children have graduated from the Imagination Library in three years since the Literacy Council became an Imagination Library affiliate. Studies indicate when a child enters kindergarten ready for school, there is an 82% chance that child will master basic skills by age 11, compared with 45% for children who are not school ready. Investment in high quality early childhood programs for children ages birth to 5 delivers a 7-10% annual return on investment through improved education, health, social and economic outcomes and reduced need for social spending. Since its inception in 1991, the United Way of Virginia’s Eastern Shore has raised more than $8.4 million to support local organizations and initiatives that help others improve the lives of those who live and work in our community. Find out more about the Eastern Shore Literacy Council at www.shoreliteracy.org or by calling 757-789-1761. Eastern Shore Literacy Council
29316 Lankford Hwy., P.O. Box 228 Melfa, VA 23410 Phone: 757-789-1761 Email: [email protected] Contact: Rose Rulon July 2, 2024 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Walmart Gives to Eastern Shore Literacy Council The Eastern Shore Literacy Council announces the receipt of a $1,000 grant from Walmart’s Spark Good Local Grant through Walmart Store #4378 in Onley, Virginia. Spark Good Local Grants are available to support causes that are important to the local store’s community. Walmart and Sam’s Club are committed to helping organizations like the Eastern Shore Literacy Council make a difference. The Eastern Shore Literacy Council, a Dolly Parton Imagination Library sponsor, covers the cost of an age-appropriate book and mailing each month to any registered age-eligible child residing on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. To register visit www.imaginationlibrary.com.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EASTERN SHORE LITERACY COUNCIL CONTACT: Rose Rulon, Executive Director, 757-789-1795 [email protected] January 24, 2024 LITERACY COUNCIL RECEIVES IMAGINATION LIBRARY GRANT The Eastern Shore Literacy Council announces a $5,000 grant award from The National Home Library Foundation to support the local Dolly Parton Imagination Library book gifting initiative. This grant award will support the distribution of books each month to registered age-eligible children. The NHLF supported the distribution of more than 4,800 books to local children in 2023. More than 1,100 children have received 15,000 books since the Fall of 2021, when the Eastern Shore Literacy Council joined with the Dollywood Foundation to bring Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to children in Accomack and Northampton counties. The National Home Library Foundation, a private foundation founded in 1932, supports initiatives that develop, sustain and encourage literacy programs serving children, teens or adults in need of reading and learning resources, with a goal of combating literacy and/or encouraging an interest in reading and the literary arts for all ages. Dolly started the Imagination Library in 1995 for children in her home county. Today her program reaches five countries and distributes more than 2 million books each month through community partners in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and the Republic of Ireland. Find out more about the Dolly Parton Imagination Library or register a child at www.imaginationlibrary.com, the Eastern Shore Literacy Council at www.shoreliteracy.org or by calling 757-789-1761. ### FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE EASTERN SHORE LITERACY COUNCIL CONTACT: Rose Rulon, Executive Director, 757-789-1795 [email protected] The Eastern Shore Literacy Council announces a $2,000 grant award from ProLiteracy. The grant will be used to strengthen fundraising endeavors utilizing Harness, an innovative company that since 2017 has helped more than 1,000 non-profits build sustainable revenue flows through long-term recurring giving models. ProLiteracy, the largest adult and basic education membership organization in the nation was created in 2002, when Literacy Volunteers of America and Laubach Literacy International merged. On behalf of its members network, ProLiteracy provides a strong collective voice to increase awareness of adult literacy challenges, create change and influence public policy. Since 1986, the Eastern Shore Literacy Council has been providing free tutoring to adults in the community through two programs, Adult Basic Education for those reading below the 5th grade level and English As a Second Language for those whose primary language is other than English. Literacy tutors are volunteers who meet with learners one -to-one or in small groups at locations from Cape Charles to Chincoteague. Find out more about ProLiteracy at www.proliteracy.org or the Eastern Shore Literacy Council at www.shoreliteracy.org or by calling 757-789-1761. |
