In celebration of the 5th year of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library’s (DPIL) presence in Clinton County, they will be showing a complimentary viewing of the documentary, “The Library That Dolly Built.”
The film will be shown at the Murphy Theatre on March 28th at 7 pm. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the program, showing the “warehouse to mailbox process,” according to Karen Long, Coordinator of DPIL. The film will also feature images of local children and families. Charlie’s will be open for happy hour from 5pm to 7pm. They plan to feature a special Dolly-Parton-inspired cocktail.
The DPIL is a book gifting program that provides enrolled children one book per month from birth through five. According to Karen, there are 1,707 children in the program locally (72% of children in the county). The program began in Clinton County in March 2020.
Initially, Dolly started the program in East Tennessee in 1995 in honor of her father who could not read. The program now exists in every state and five countries.
The program is free to families. The cost to mail the books is $2.60 per child per month. According to Karen, the state pays for half of that cost. In Clinton County, ATSG pays for the “bulk” of the remaining cost.
Karen also mentioned that reading to children multiple times a day could increase the number of words they know by kindergarten by over a million. Karen stated, “It’s amazing the number of words, if you read a book to kids or read to kids, how many words they know.” She also stated that 80% of the brain is developed by age three. Karen continued, “[Dolly] wants to positively impact brain development by getting books in homes of families.”
Tickets to the event are free. To reserve tickets or donate to the DPIL, visit clintoncountyohiofoundation.org.