NORWAY – The Child Health Center’s Norway Preschool presented the Oxford County United Way with a check for $500 recently. The donation supports the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which strives to send one book a month to children up to 5 years old.

The program, started in 1995 by the Dolly-Wood Foundation, recognizes the need for children throughout the country to be introduced to books early in their lives. Recently the Oxford County United Way was invited to partner with the foundation ensuring that all children from birth to 5 years of age in Oxford County receive a book a month until they enter school.

This is a fairly new endeavor for the United Way, which is working to establish a committee composed of librarians, publishers, teachers and other specialists in child development to identify county’s preschool children and choose the books to be donated. The books will be carefully chosen by this committee and identified based on their age-appropriateness, their promotion of self-esteem, regards for diversity, and their appreciation of art.

To fund the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Oxford County, the United Way is dedicating all growth in 2003 to this effort and will be seeking other donations and grants to complete the necessary funds. It is estimated that this program will offer 60 books for each of the county’s 2,600 children before they enter school.

The Oxford County Untied Way is dedicated to this project as research has shown that reading is an important key to the success of a child in school. To learn more about the Dolly Parton Imagination Library you may contact the Oxford County United Way at 743-5833 or www.uwoxfordcounty.org.

The Child Health Center is a nonprofit organization striving to improve the lives of children and their families. For more information regarding services call 743-7035 or visit www.childehealthcenter.org.

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