Foundation outlines early-childhood books, STEM programs and summer counseling needs

At the Sept. 16 Kane County Commission meeting, Kelly Kelly identified herself with the Kean Education Foundation and thanked commissioners for financial support "giving $21,000 for us to help do what we do throughout the year," saying the grant makes a measurable difference in local children's programming.

Kelly described the foundation's Dolly Parton Imagination Library partnership, noting that children birth to 5 receive a mailed age-appropriate book each month and that the program costs approximately $2.60 per child per book. She said the local program has delivered "over 8,827 books" since starting in 2021 and that the foundation budgets about $6,000 a year to sustain the program in the Kanab area.

She described other offerings: a preschool summer science program (budgeted about $1,000), a STEM program budget of roughly $20,000 that supports multi-day STEM camps and in-school activities, an art-in-the-library kit serving about 320 students (annual budget ~ $5,000), and summer counseling for at-risk students (budgeted $15,000 this past summer but likely to increase to about $20,000 next year due to rising fees). The foundation also took 400 period-product packets from a Utah Tech policy project event intended for school nurses and maturation programs.

Commissioners thanked Kelly and sought clarifications on funding sources; staff and commissioners noted a mix of library-fund and general-fund support and confirmed previous allocations. Kelly answered usage questions and said she would follow up with school nurses for precise counts of period packet distribution.

The presentation was informational; commissioners expressed appreciation and offered continued help with local programming and outreach.