Biddeford Ready! Partners with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Program to Bring Free Books to Biddeford Families
Biddeford Ready!, a program of United Way of Southern Maine (UWSM), has partnered with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to provide high-quality books to Biddeford families with children under 5. Parents and guardians with a Biddeford zip code can sign up for the program online and receive books every month, delivered directly to their homes, at no cost and regardless of income.
The partnership with Imagination Library supports Biddeford Ready!’s mission of helping Biddeford’s youngest residents get the resources they need to enter kindergarten prepared to thrive in school and beyond. In 2021, there were an estimated 933 children under age 5 in Biddeford.
Biddeford Ready! receives organizational support from UWSM. “We hope that Imagination Library sparks a love of reading and learning for Biddeford’s youngest citizens that stays with them for the rest of their lives,” said Rebecca Alfredson, UWSM's director, education. “90% of brain development occurs before age 5, which makes the time before kindergarten critical for future success.”
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library was launched in 1995 by The Dollywood Foundation, providing free books to children in Parton’s home area of Sevier County, Tennessee. The goal of the program is to inspire a love of books and reading among children. The first book is always The Little Engine That Could, by Watty Piper.
Children must be registered in the Imagination Library by a parent or guardian in order to receive the books. There is no charge to register or receive the books. Parents and guardians with a Biddeford zip code can sign up here.
About Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become the preeminent early childhood book gifting program in the world. The flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has gifted over 200 million free books in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and The Republic of Ireland. This is achieved through funding shared by The Dollywood Foundation and Local Program Partners. The Imagination Library mails more than 2 million high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to enrolled children from birth to age five. Dolly envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading and inspiring children to Dream More, Learn More, Care More, and Be More®.
The program has been widely researched and results demonstrate the positive impact on early childhood development and literacy skills. Penguin Random House is the exclusive publisher for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
For more information, please visit imaginationlibrary.com.
About United Way of Southern Maine
United Way of Southern Maine (UWSM) works with the community to quickly respond to emerging needs and tackle persistent issues that hold people back from achieving financial stability and leading healthy lives. UWSM mobilizes the ideas, expertise, and resources of more than 300 businesses, foundations, government, and nonprofit partners and thousands of individuals to close gaps in early childhood development, create pathways to educational and employment opportunities, and increase access to mental health care and addiction prevention and intervention services. Learn more at uwsme.org.