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Building Brighter Futures Through Literacy

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

Imagination Library of Oswego County (ILOC) is the county-wide affiliate of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, the international program from the Dollywood Foundation. The program is administered locally by the Literacy Coalition of Oswego County in partnership with United Way of Greater Oswego County.

ILOC provides and mails free, high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to children, ranging from birth to five years old, who reside in Oswego County. There is no cost for the family regardless of the household income. Children can be registered at any age below five years old and as early as one day old. Children age out of the program and receive their last book in the month of their fifth birthday.

ILOC believes that literacy must begin at home prior to a child beginning school. The health benefits of being read to in early childhood positively impacts the architecture of the brain. When the neuropathways are strengthened, the brain is more equipped to learn and grow during their school-age years. The nurturing and one-on-one attention from caregivers while reading aloud also forms a healthy bond with a caregiver and encourages children to form a positive association with books and reading. Shared caregiver-child book reading during a child's preschool years leads to higher reading achievement in elementary school and a greater enthusiasm for reading and learning.

Since the Oswego County program launched in November 2018, 7,500 children have participated, 3,500 children have graduated, and over 175,000 books have been delivered to children across the county. ILOC delivers 3,300 books a month to local children across communities in Oswego County.

Dolly Parton started Imagination Library in 1995 in her home county in East Tennessee through the Dollywood Foundation. The program is now available throughout the US, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the UK, and has delivered over 275 million books worldwide. Learn more about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library here.

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Staff
Andrew Eusebio
Coordinator
iloc@oswegounitedway.org
Mike Egan
Co-Director
Patrick Dewine
Co-Director

Advisory Board

Brian Chetney
Mary Curcio
Brandy Koproski
Diane Oldenburg
Carin Reeve
Kristen Slimmer
Carri Waloven

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