Reading to your child is one of the most important things a parents can do with their young child.  Through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, registered Ellis County children receive a free, age-appropriate book in the mail each month.

Tuesday morning, the 2013 Leadership Hays class  presented an over-sized check for $5,325 to Ellis County Imagination Library coordinator Rae Smith.

Class members raised the funds during last month’s first-ever Run for Reading in downtown Hays.  The Leadership class also documented how they organized and developed the race so the Dolly Parton Imagination Library can continue hosting the event in the future.

Smith says the Ellis County Imagination Library currently has 648 children signed up.