SILOAM SPRINGS -- Rotarians have partnered with the Kiwanis Club to continue bringing Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to children in Siloam Springs.
On Wednesday, Rotary president Tim Davis and treasurer Mary Nolan attended the Siloam Springs Kiwanis Club meeting to present a $1,200 check toward sponsoring children in the Siloam Springs ZIP code to join the library.
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is a book gifting program mailing free, high-quality books to children from birth until they begin school, no matter their family's income, according to the organization's website, imaginationlibrary.com.
The Imagination Library partners with Penguin Books and the foundation pays for all of the research, but local sponsors also cover some of the cost, according to Katie Rennard, Kiwanis Club committee chair. Sponsors pay $26 a year to have one age-appropriate book shipped to a child each month, she said.
"You can't buy a kid's book for less that $10 or $15, let alone give them one a month," she said. "There are lots of statistics that prove how much a difference it makes in a child's life to have books in their home. Our goal in Kiwanis is to serve the children, so we feel like starting at home this is what we are doing here. We are really proud of that."
At any given time, there are estimated to be 500 to 600 children in Siloam Springs' ZIP code who qualify for the program, Rennard said. The local Kiwanis Club launched Dolly Parton's Imagination Library last October and raised enough money to enroll 80 children in the program in the first year, she said. This year, the Kiwanis Club raised an additional $4,000 for the project and with the donation from the Rotary Club, will be able to serve around 250 children, she said.
"We would just like to say thank you, we love to partner with other service clubs in Siloam Springs and we are so proud to be able to do this with Rotary," Rennard said.
Kiwanis reached out to the Rotary Club about partnering on the library, Davis said.
"The Siloam Springs Rotary Club has many local service projects that focus on childhood literacy," Davis said. "We know that Kiwanis has helped our community with their work on the Imagination Library and we are very happy to donate funds to see the project grow."
United Way of Northwest Arkansas is overseeing Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in Northwest Arkansas, Rennard said.
"We are pleased to partner with the Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs of Siloam Springs to bring the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to Siloam Springs children (age) 0 to 6," said Jackie Hancock Jr., president and CEO of United Way of Northwest Arkansas. "The monies contributed by the clubs will help bring a monthly book delivered through the mail by DPIL. Children's reading skills are a foundational cornerstone for a lifetime of education and learning, so it's important to get age and language appropriate books to kids at their earliest learning stages. Gifts from Kiwanis and Rotary, along with other community gifts, will help us do that."
Janelle Jessen may be reached by email at jjessen@nwadg.com.