By Rich Larson, KYMN News
The Rice County Area United Way is inviting the community to celebrate literacy and Dolly Parton’s legacy at Dolly’s Book Bash on The fundraiser supports the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, a program that mails free books to children from birth to age five—one book each month, totaling 60 books by the time they start kindergarten.
The program is free to families, but the reality is that it costs about $30 per child per year. With nearly 1,900 Rice County children enrolled the money adds up quickly, so the Rice County Area United Way and the Friends of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library are looking for community support to help keep the program in place in Rice County.
The Imagination Library has proven benefits. Beth Berry of the Friends of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library noted that local studies show low-income children enrolled in the program benefitted greatly.
“Locally, we found that the low-income kids who had the program met the third-grade benchmarks at a rate more than double that of the low-income children who were not enrolled. And educators will tell you that third grade benchmark is vitally important, because that’s where you go from learning to read to reading to learn, and you’re left behind if you can’t read.”
Dolly’s Book Bash promises an evening of fun and philanthropy. Guests will enjoy live music from local duo Shenanigans, hors d’oeuvres, desserts, and games—including the crowd favorite “bra pong.” Silent and live auctions will feature unique items such as a two-night stay in Grand Marais, an Italian dinner for 10 at Books on Centra in Faribault, a diamond pendant, and a week of hockey camp at Shattuck-St. Mary’s. Rice County Area United Way Executive Director Laura Riehle-Merrill said online bidding will be available for most silent auction items, making it easy for those who can’t attend to participate.
“Folks can bid online if they’re not able to attend. And so that will be happening – we need to get everything up on the website. It’s not there yet, but when it’s closer to the event, we’ll open it for bidding and then bidding will close that evening.”
Tickets are $40 and can be purchased at ricecountyunitedway.org, where donations are also accepted. Riehle-Merrill emphasized that $30 of each ticket directly funds books for local children. With over $37,000 already raised through sponsorships, organizers hope the event will push the program even further.
The third annual Dolly’s Book Bash will be Friday, January 30th, at 6:30 p.m. at the Faribault American Legion. For more information visit ricecountyunitedway.org.
Rich Larson is the owner and General Manager of KYMN Radio. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
