The Dane G. Hansen Foundation is embarking on a comprehensive initiative to emphasize the importance of reading for young children. As a part of this reading initiative, the Foundation is pleased to introduce or expand three separate programs that will encourage and support literacy for our youngest citizens.
Research shows that reading aloud with a child for just fifteen minutes a day is the single most important activity to help a child prepare for reading and learning. Reading with a child is beneficial for brain development, language development, vocabulary, phonics, comprehension and familiarity with the printed word. In addition, reading with a child offers a time for bonding and instills a life-long love of reading. To facilitate the benefits of these early reading activities, the Dane G. Hansen Foundation is funding the following two programs designed to put age-appropriate books into the hands of every young child in Northwest Kansas.
Dolly Parton Imagination Library
Every child in the Hansen Foundation service area, from birth to age five, is eligible to receive a free book delivered to his or her door each month as part of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
The Dane G. Hansen Foundation has committed to provide funding for this program for all eligible children in Northwest Kansas. The Dollywood Foundation, based in Tennessee, funds the postage and administration of the program. There is no cost for families.
In order to participate, children must meet the age requirement, (0 to 5 years) and live in one of the 26 counties served by the Dane G. Hansen Foundation. A list of counties is available at NWKansasReads.org. Children must be enrolled by a parent or legal guardian. Enrollment is available online or by paper registration.
Once enrolled, the child will receive an age-appropriate book in the mail every month until age 5. The books are selected by a committee of professionals from the fields of education, child development, and early childhood literacy. All titles in the Imagination Library are reviewed annually along with new books that could be added for the coming year. Each book will have a label with the child’s name on it, helping to personalize the small library of up to 60 books that every child will receive by the time he or she ages out of the program.
Dolly Parton and the Dollywood Foundation started the Imagination Library in 1995 for the children of her home town of Pigeon Forge Tennessee. Her goal was to encourage a love of reading among local preschool children and their families with the gift of a new book each month.
By 2000, the program had become so popular that Parton announced she would make the program available to any community that was willing to partner with her to support it. Since the initial launch in 1995, more than 80 million books have been mailed to children in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It is the goal of the Dane G. Hansen Foundation to enroll every eligible child in the Foundation’s 26 county service area. Toward that end, the Foundation encourages parents, grandparents, relatives, teachers, day-care providers, etc., to help make sure that no child is deprived of this opportunity. To learn how to sign up for the Imagination Library and who the partner organizations are in your county, visit NWKansasReads.org.
In addition to getting books to children in their homes, the Hansen Foundation is partnering with the Kansas Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Kansas Pediatric Foundation to expand the successful Turn a Page, Touch a Mind (TAP-TAM) program.
Clinics across the Hansen Foundation service area are eligible to sign-up to participate in this innovative program where young children receive an age-appropriate book from his or her clinician at each well-child checkup.
The Hansen Foundation commitment has further expanded TAP-TAM to include books distributed through the county health departments when children come for their immunizations.
More than 30 new sites have been added to the TAP-TAM program to better serve children in Northwest Kansas. Participating clinicians receive training on how to use the books as they interact with children and encourage reading at home for the entire family.
Why Reading?
The Hansen Foundation Trustees have worked with reading specialists in the area to develop an initiative that will make a significant difference for the families in Northwest Kansas, and they believe that both of these programs have the ability to greatly benefit children and families.
“We are so grateful to the local partner agencies and clinics in each county that have stepped up to make sure these programs are available to all children in our area,” said Hansen Foundation Trustee Brien Stockman. “There is an abundance of research that supports the effectiveness of both the Imagination Library and Turn A Page Touch A Mind programs.”
“Access to good quality, age-appropriate literature for pre-school children has been determined to be a critical element in being ready for the rigors of kindergarten.”
Children who enter kindergarten ready to learn are more likely to be reading at age level by third grade, an important marker for future academic success.
Be watching for future announcements as the Hansen Foundation works to promote literacy and ensure that children in Northwest Kansas have the best possible environment to become successful readers and students.