Greater Longview United Way outlines Week of Action; highlights book‑vending and Imagination Library

Mayor introduced Reverend Dr. Evan Dolev of the Greater Longview United Way to lead the invocation and give a brief update on literacy outreach and volunteer opportunities. Dolev described longview united way initiatives and the Week of Action scheduled May 1–8, and provided sign‑up websites (etxcares.com and longviewunitedway.org/weekofaction).

Dolev said the United Way’s Read to Succeed book‑vending program has machines in nearly every Gregg County school district and that the organization has distributed over 16,000 books in three school years; he added that the program is expanding and that 29 machines are currently in operation with a 30th in production. He also noted operations of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library for children under five with a Gregg County address: “Since January 2023, over 80,000 books have been delivered to children with more than 2,400 children currently in the library,” he said.

The mayor invited councilmembers to rise for the invocation and pledge; the presentation included a call to volunteer for Week of Action projects (outdoor work, supply drives for childcare or the women’s center and other activities) and to use the posted websites to learn how to sign up. A council member noted that Pine Tree School received one of the earlier vending machines and thanked United Way for promoting literacy in local schools.

Why it matters: the update links a national awareness day (World Book Day) to local literacy programming and volunteer recruitment, and it announced specific ways residents can participate beginning May 1.