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Niles Township launches Dolly Parton Imagination Library chapter serving Skokie families
Summary
Niles Township and the Skokie Community Foundation announced a locally run chapter of Dolly Parton—ducation Foundation—ooks-by-Mail program; Illinois covers roughly half the cost and local sponsors helped launch the effort, which aims to deliver a free book monthly to children from birth to age 5.
Ruth Orm Johnson, director of social services for Niles Township, and Jim Shpaniak, executive director of the Skokie Community Foundation, told the Skokie Village Board on July 20 that a Dolly Parton Imagination Library chapter is now active in Niles Township and will serve Skokie families.
The program mails one high-quality, age-appropriate book per month to each enrolled child from birth until the child turns 5. Johnson said the local effort aims to register about 3,900 children in Skokie, roughly 65% of the target age band in the village. "It's only $78 to cover a kid for the whole five years," Johnson said, describing sponsorship and individual-donor options that help sustain the service.
The Imagination Library is administered nationally by the Dollywood Foundation; local chapters are responsible for fundraising and outreach. Johnson said Illinois currently covers roughly half the program cost for participating chapters, and local partners had to raise a two-year reserve before beginning service. Jim Shpaniak said the Skokie Community Foundation and partners planned a fundraising target of about $32,000 to meet the reserve requirement and that they were able to start the program faster after a $30,000 gift from the Madge Goldman Foundation.
Johnson and Shpaniak listed initial supporters and sponsors including the Madge Goldman Foundation, the Education Foundation, Niles Township government, 1st Bank of Chicago and North Shore Community Bank. Shpaniak said additional school- and library-based outreach and a storybook brunch planned for November will supplement registration efforts and community awareness.
Supporters framed the program as both a community-building and an early-education strategy. Johnson cited research the chapter relies on, including a program-commissioned estimate of a "28.9% increase in kindergarten readiness" tied to home reading and book availability. She said books will be available in English and Spanish, with braille options offered through the Imagination Library for families that request them.
Registration for families was listed at imaginationlibrarynt.org, and presenters asked trustees and local community organizations to help spread the word and consider sponsorships to sustain program operations.
Next steps: local partners will continue fundraising and outreach, and the township will begin enrolling eligible children. The board thanked presenters and noted the program's potential to support kindergarten readiness in Skokie.
