A program that sends free books to children in Pittsburgh is ending after four years because of “changes in funding,” officials said.
The city’s affiliation with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library will conclude this month, said Lauren Wirt, regional director for The Dollywood Foundation, a Tennessee-based nonprofit that started the national program in 1995.
The Imagination Library partners with community nonprofits to help cover the costs of mailing one book per month to enrolled children for free through the child’s fifth birthday. Pittsburgh’s affiliation began in 2019 after the city received a $250,000 donation from an area nonprofit.
“The Mayor’s office has decided to close the program that they had sponsored due to changes in funding,” Ms. Wirt said in an email. “Approximately 3,400 children under the age of 5 will receive their last books in April.”
The city announced the closure of the program in a letter, which Ms. Wirt provided to the Post-Gazette.
“Despite our best efforts, we were not able to find another program host; however, you are welcome to continue checking the Dolly Parton Imagination Library website to see if there are any other new programs serving your zip code,” the letter reads.
It continues, stating that city officials are working closely with the Imagination Library team “to find other ways to continue supporting this program because we know how valuable it is for our families of Pittsburgh.”
A city spokeswoman did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Pittsburgh’s Imagination Library started four years ago when the city received $250,000 in funding from The Benter Foundation. Those funds were used to cover promotion of the program and monthly mailing fees, which cost $26 per child each year.
According to Ms. Wirt, The Dollywood Foundation must partner with a nonprofit organization, which then becomes an affiliate. That organization will cover the $26 cost of books, registering interested children and managing the web-based book ordering system.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library handles book selections, monthly mailings and overhead costs.
The program was first launched in Sevier County, Tenn. in 1995 where country music superstar Dolly Parton grew up. Today, The Dollywood Foundation mails over 2.3 million books per month to children in the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia and Ireland. Since its inception, over 200 million books have been mailed.
In Pittsburgh, the program quickly took off with more than 1,400 kids receiving the first shipment of books. Shortly after, 400 additional children signed up.
By 2020, the city accepted additional donations of $50,000 from the Hillman Family Foundation and $18,000 from McAuley Ministries to sustain and grow the program.
Kathy Buechel, The Benter Foundation’s executive director, said her organization was happy to help the city for as long as the program lasted.
“We do understand there are a lot of priorities and needs right now in the city, and so we want to be supportive of ways to help keep the city vibrant,” Ms. Buechel said. “We thought this was one, and if it’s ending we’ll find other ways to support the city and the youngest people here.”
Ms. Wirt noted The Dollywood Foundation is “hopeful to identify a new partner in the very near future.”
Reading Ready Pittsburgh is covering at least two months of program costs for children in three zip codes – 15221, 15219 and 15208 – which include Braddock Hills, Forest Hills, the Hill District, Homewood and Wilkinsburg.
According to Mary Denison, Reading Ready Pittsburgh’s executive director, the organization was already a Dolly Parton Imagination Library affiliate for about 1,600 children in the Mon Valley and Wilkinsburg.
When she found out the city was ending their program, she asked her board if they could cover program costs for about 300 city children because she “was concerned about the kids, primarily the children in the lowest income zip codes in the city,” Ms. Denison said.
Her organization plans to cover those costs until other funding is attained.
“I just think that’s such a disservice to the small children in our city,” Ms. Denison said. “I feel like building that enjoyment and love of books, and the engagement around those books for small children is one of the most important things we can do to make sure children do well when they get to school.”
—Hallie Lauer contributed to this report
First Published: April 10, 2023, 8:29 p.m.
