Washington County, OH — As the Washington County, Ohio affiliate for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL), Marietta Community Foundation is committed to putting books into the hands and hearts of children from all across Washington County.

In order to help grow the program even further, the Foundation is encouraging all parents with children under 5 to enroll, and has launched a $20,000 “Match the Imagination” campaign. Through this campaign, the Foundation is matching up to $20,000 in donations to the Washington County Imagination Library fund to help support the influx of enrollment costs.

“We’re passionate about the program and want every single child in Washington County to be able to register,” said Heather Allender, President & CEO of Marietta Community Foundation. “Far too often we have to inform a parent that we’re trying to solidify funding to register their child. We’re hoping that matching support from the community dollar-for-dollar will allow the fund to support the program’s growth.”

The raised funds will be used to cover the influx of enrollment costs and grow the fund to ensure the program's overall sustainability — working to ensure that local children are able to enjoy a new book each month, regardless of their family's financial ability.

This program is made available to families at no cost by donors to the Washington County Imagination Library fund at Marietta Community Foundation, and the organization’s partnership with the Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library (OGIL) program.

“The Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library is providing a lot of support right now by covering affiliate’s costs in January and February of 2022,” said Allender. “They see the value in growing the program, so if Washington County shows significant progress during that time, OGIL will cover the month of March too.”

A gift of $25 will provide books for one child for one year. A gift of $125 will provide one child with books for 5 years — from birth until age 5.

Children who reside in Washington County can be enrolled in the program through the OGIL’s website, https://ohioimaginationlibrary.org, or by filling out a form at the Foundation’s office at the corner of Front and Putnam in Downtown Marietta.

Community members interested in donating to the dollar-for-dollar match can make a gift online at https://mcfohio.betterworld.org/campaigns/matchtheimagination or mail/deliver checks made payable to MCF with Imagination Library in the memo to Marietta Community Foundation, 100 Putnam Street Marietta, OH 45750.

Marietta Community Foundation supports philanthropy and efforts to improve natural, human, and civic resources in Washington County through grants and initiatives. Founded in 1974, Marietta Community Foundation has grown to approximately $42.6 million in assets, oversees more than 300 funds, and has distributed more than $22 million to charities while meeting rigorous national standards for operational quality, donor service, and accountability in the community foundation sector.

Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become the preeminent early childhood book gifting program in the world. The flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has gifted well over 160 million free books in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom,  Australia, and The Republic of Ireland. The Imagination Library mails more than 1.8 million high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to registered children from birth to age five. Dolly envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading, inspiring them to dream. The impact of the program has been widely researched and results suggest positive increases in key early childhood literacy metrics. Penguin Random House is the exclusive publisher for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. For more information, please visit imaginationlibrary.com.