NEW LEXINGTON – A fundraiser for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library was held for Perry County on Saturday, Sept. 24. In the parking lot of sponsor Ludowici Roof Tile, 4757 Tile Plant Rd. in New Lexington, a large tent housed the outdoor fundraiser which featured auctions, food, live entertainment and even a visit from Ohio First Lady Fran DeWine and Gov. Mike DeWine.
Founded in 2019 as the Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library, the book-mailing program originally was only offered to a few counties in Ohio. The program went statewide in October 2020, ensuring that all children of Ohio were eligible to receive a free book once a month until age five. In July 2022, the Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library transitioned to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio, changing its logo and name to match the program that inspired Fran DeWine to bring the Imagination Library to Ohio.
Now the program serves around 1,000 kids in Perry County ages birth to five, and donors can support a child in a full five-year sponsorship for just $125. In a speech to the crowd at the event, First Lady DeWine emphasized how easy it is now to sign up kids for the Imagination Library – just visit the Imagination Library’s website (ohioimaginationlibrary.org) or talk to a librarian at your public library.
“Last night I talked to a parent… and she said they had a block party for the kids,” First Lady DeWine said. “They had their iPad and they signed all these kids up that otherwise wouldn’t have been able to get online.”
Source: Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library fundraiser held in New Lexington