Leading the way on literacy

Matt Baier and his 3-year-old son, Evan Kaina-Baier, enjoy a book together as part of a Whitewater LEADS project that includes sponsorship of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in the local community. (Tom Ganser photo)

Effort in Whitewater reaches goal, hopes to continue growing

The Whitewater LEADS organization has sponsored the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in the local community.

At the beginning of March, 45 percent of children under 5 years of age in the Whitewater area had registered for the DPIL reading program.

“When this program was brought to Whitewater after we moved here, we were really excited,” DPIL parent Lisa Dawsey said in a news release. “My now 4-year-old gets so excited when her book arrives each month. Books enrich children’s lives in so many ways beyond tangible test scores.”

According to projections from the DPIL staff, Whitewater would not meet the 45 percent target until the third or fourth year, but it reached that goal in less than two years after the effort in fall 2017.

“Thanks to the partnership with the school district, Irvin L. Young Memorial Public Library and the work of our volunteers, we are ahead of schedule in getting these books in the hands of young children and their parents,” Whitewater LEADS President Jim Winship said in the news release.

Winship also mentioned that research showed that when children receive a book they are more excited about reading and parents spend more time reading with their kids.

The DPIL is a reading program in which children 5 and younger receive a free, age-appropriate book mailed to their home. It is meant to engage children in the world of reading early and prepare them for schooling.

The Dollywood Foundation started the DPIL, founded by country music legend Dolly Parton, who grew up in a poor, rural family. The program started as a charity in Sevier County, Tennessee.

The program currently distributes over 1 million books monthly to children around the world.

Whitewater LEADS is a nonprofit organization established in 2015 to support literacy in the greater Whitewater area.

Its board is composed of representatives from local businesses, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the Whitewater Unified School District and others in the community.

“The total cost for our literacy efforts is about $10,000 a year, with the bulk of it going to the Imagination Library,” Whitewater LEADS board member and Greater Whitewater Committee Inc. Chairman Larry Kachel said in the news release. “We will have a fundraising event in the fall to recognize our donors and sponsors, while raising money for the following year.”

Parents in the WUSD with children younger than 5 can register them to receive free books by going to online to imaginationlibrary.com.

For more information or to volunteer with Whitewater LEADS, email to whitewaterleads@gmail.com.

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