PHILADELPHIA, PA – A parent is a child’s first teacher. This year from Mother’s Day to Father’s Day, Foundations, Inc. and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) will host the #GivePhillyBooks campaign, challenging local communities to “Play Tag” on social media to raise $15K for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Philadelphia. Donors will be encouraged to tag friends and challenge them to contribute using the hashtag #GivePhillyBooks.
In March 2021, PDPH and Foundations, Inc. teamed up to deliver books to Philadelphia’s youngest children through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL). Children from birth to age five who are registered with the program receive a FREE, age-appropriate book mailed to their home each month until their fifth birthday. In addition, enrolled families receive tools to improve childhood literacy including reading strategies, parenting tips, and connections to community resources.
A $25 donation can provide one child with 12 books for one year. Additional funding is critical to continue the expansion and sustainability of Imagination Library Philadelphia.
“Through the generosity of local communities, 2,157 children have been enrolled resulting in the delivery of 5,660 bookssince launching Imagination Library Philadelphia in March 2021,” said Elizabeth Cieri, Executive Director, Communications and Development at Foundations, Inc.
2,157 children have been enrolled in Imagination Library Philadelphia to date.
5,660 books have been delivered since Imagination Library Philadelphia’s launch in March 2021.
*Data from Imagination Library’s Monthly Reports.
“One of the most important things we can do to improve childhood literacy is to give our children access to books, especially as we’re facing critical learning loss from the pandemic,” said Rhonda H. Lauer, President and CEO of Foundations, Inc. The mission of the program is to foster a love of reading in preschool children and ensure that every child born in Philadelphia has books, regardless of their family’s income.
Outreach efforts have been focused on specific Philadelphia neighborhoods, based on data from PDPH and Read by 4th. These neighborhoods were selected due to high rates of poverty and a lack of existing book distribution programs. They have also partnered with trusted community resources like libraries, pediatric clinics, and daycares to expand the reach of DPIL in Philadelphia, especially in under-resourced or under-served areas of the city.
Please “Play Tag”and join the #GivePhillyBooks Challenge! Donate here + help spread the word about Imagination Library Philadelphia.
ABOUT Foundations, Inc.
Foundations, Inc is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization committed to improving the quality of education for our nation’s children by strengthening the skills of educators. They believe that supporting educators is the best way to improve experiences for our children both in school and afterschool. Their services and resources allow them to meet the unique needs of individuals and organizations, building capacity so that they can learn new and engaging strategies to achieve their goals and create a brighter future for every child – every day.
About Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become the premier early childhood book gifting program in the world by mailing well over 90 million free books in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and the United States.
Media Contact
Company Name: Foundations, Inc.
Contact Person: Elizabeth Cieri
Email: Send Email
City: Mt Laurel
State: New Jersey
Country: United States
Website: https://foundationsinc.org/