Fran DeWine reads to children at Wapak Elementary School Thursday afternoon.
WAPAKONETA — Ohio’s First Lady Fran DeWine has been touring the State of Ohio to reach youth by way of books. DeWine read books Thursday to students at Wapak Elementary to advocate for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
Parton had the vision to create a love of reading in children. She made a remark about the importance of inspiring youth to dream and cultivating the many seeds to help them grow.
“The seeds of these dreams are often found in books,” said Parton. “The seeds you help plant in your community can grow across the world.”
DeWine began to bring awareness to this program in 2019. She remembered how much her children loved to read and felt called to inspire.
“I loved reading to my own kids and grandkids,” said DeWine. “It is fun to go around Ohio and read to other kids and see how they react and just have fun. If I can help more kids get signed up it is really good.”
The global program allows children from birth to age 5 to receive a monthly free book. The program is available in Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. In total, 2,106,147 children are registered in the program. 188,754,464 books have been given across the globe.
In the state of Ohio, the library has reached 343,490 children.
”We partnered with Dolly Parton to give children all across the state a free book in the mail every single month,” added DeWine. “We have about 48% of the children under 5 signed up. We are looking to get more children. That is why I go out. It promotes reading at an early age and we know a child’s brain is 80% developed by the time they are 3 so we want to start early.”
The State of Ohio partners with each county to promote the program. The Auglaize County Commissioners have donated $10,000 each year to help fund this program. The county now has 54% of children under the age of 5 signed up for free books.
“Commissioners all over the state have helped us a lot,” added DeWine. “We get books from the library for $2.10 each. Our local affiliates raise money and sign the kids up. Our money is matched by the state legislature. Every dollar the affiliates make and give is matched by the state legislature. That is the way it works. The neat thing about every county having an affiliate is they come up with very creative ways to raise money.”
Auglaize County Commissioner Doug Spencer shared thoughts about the program.
“It makes sense to invest in our children,” said Spencer. “To me, it’s a no-brainer.”
