United Way of St. Charles is celebrating a major milestone in early childhood literacy, having provided more than 250,000 free books to St. Charles Parish children through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program as of the end of June 2026.
United Way of St. Charles brought the program to St. Charles Parish in 2009 and has remained committed to ensuring young children have access to books in their homes during the critical early years of development.
The number of children enrolled in the program fluctuates as new children are born and older participants age out, but enrollment has remained steady with more than 1,200 children participating annually. Those local enrollments represent approximately 3% of all children enrolled in the program throughout Louisiana.
“Reaching 250,000 books is an incredible achievement and a testament to our community’s commitment to investing in our youngest learners,” said John Dias, Executive Director of United Way of St. Charles. “By putting books directly into the hands of children and families, we are helping build strong literacy skills and fostering a lifelong love of reading.”
According to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, research found that after receiving just 10 books through the program, children were at least four times more likely to demonstrate stronger emerging literacy skills than children who did not participate.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by mailing high-quality, age-appropriate books free of charge to children from birth to age 5. Books are delivered monthly. Therefore each child could receive a total of 60 books through this program depending on the date of registration.
Inspired by her father’s inability to read and write, Dolly Parton launched the Imagination Library in 1995 for children living in her home county in Tennessee. Today, the program spans five countries and gifts millions of books each month to children around the world.
The program is funded through a partnership between the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and local community partners, including United Way of St. Charles thanks to generous donations from the community.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is available to all children under the age of 5 who reside in St. Charles Parish. Families can enroll their children by visiting www.uwaysc.org/imagination-library.