(Angie Rolheiser/northeastNOW Staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

Fueling a love of learning

Duo hopes to bring Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to P.A.

Feb 19, 2020 | 2:08 PM

A pair of Prince Albert residents are looking to start a local chapter of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

The 25-year-old program has made the country music star a champion of early childhood literacy, delivering over 132 million books to children in five countries.

Registered kids are mailed one book a month from the time they’re born until they’re five years old.

Teacher and Dolly Parton fan Kurtis Hamel told paNOW the program is needed in Prince Albert.

“One of the biggest indicators of success in school is children who have books before even going to school. That’s exactly what this does,” he said. “By the time that child gets into kindergarten they will already have had 60 books given to them. Coming into school with 60 books that have been read to them or they are starting to learn will give them a huge advantage.”

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Hamel and lawyer Estelle Hjertaas are currently looking for volunteers to get the program up and running in P.A.

Local organizers are responsible for fundraising $3.55 per child per month to cover the cost of books and postage.

Hamel said based on census data, with 100 per cent of the approximately 2,600 kids in kids under five in P.A. enrolled, the annual cost would be around $60,000.

“At the end of the day it’s really about finding some corporate sponsors who will commit to some long-term sponsorship,” he explained.

Volunteers will also be needed to register children in the program.

Aside from seeing evidence of the importance of literacy skills in his professional life as a teacher, Hamel is also a life-long Dolly Parton enthusiast. When he was 12 years old, the Children’s Wish Foundation granted his wish to meet her and visit her theme park Dollywood in Tennessee.

“Thirty years later I’m still a fan,” he said. “There’s a lot more to Dolly than her looks and her music; she does a lot of really good things for her community as well as the larger community.”

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom