Bredesen and Pre-K Students Celebrate 2010 Imagination Library Week
Wednesday, September 22, 2010 | 05:13am
NASHVILLE – Governor Phil Bredesen and pre-kindergarten students from Crockett Elementary School in Brentwood today celebrated 2010 Imagination Library Week with a round of reading. They were joined by an executive from statewide sponsor Nissan North America.
Bredesen has proclaimed September 19-25 Imagination Library Week in Tennessee and local Imagination Library affiliates in all 95 counties are bringing awareness to the free book program with the goal of boosting statewide enrollment. Nissan has been a generous sponsor of the program, giving more than half a million dollars to local Imagination Libraries where their employees live and work in Williamson, Davidson, Rutherford and Franklin counties.
“Governors get to do a lot of fun things, but reading with kids tops my list,” said Bredesen. “I encourage every Tennessee family with children under the age of five to enroll them in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library during this special week to provide them with the tools for a lifetime of learning.”
In 1996, Dolly Parton created the Imagination Library as a gift to the children in her hometown of Sevierville, Tenn., mailing books to the homes of registered children from birth to age five at no cost to the family, regardless of income. Since 2004, when Bredesen created the Governor’s Books From Birth Foundation to assist local Imagination Library organizers, more than 10 million free books have been delivered to Tennessee children. Currently, 215,000 Tennessee children are enrolled in the program.
The Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation encourages Tennesseans to enroll their child in the program or to make a donation to their county’s Imagination Library, making it possible for a local child to receive free books. Donations to county Imagination Libraries can be made at www.governorsfoundation.org.
Just $24 annually provides for the purchase and delivery of 12 books to one child. This cost is split evenly between a non-profit sponsoring organization in every Tennessee county and a state budgetary allocation administered by the Governor's Books from Birth Foundation.
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