Summary: 1.200 new, high quality, age-appropriate books, labeled with the child's name, will be mailed directly to the homes of enrolled Verde Valley children ages 2 months until thier 5th birthday
The Verde Valley Imagination Library (VVIL) is dedicated to improving early childhood literacy skills by promoting and funding Dolly Parton's Imagination Library for all qualified children living the the Verde Valley (VV) area of Arizona. Language & literacy skills of children living in the VV are significantly behind children from other states. Only 36 % of children were proficient or better on the 3rd grade state literacy test. Low income levels are high with over 67% qualifying for free or reduced lunch. Arizona ranks 50th in the country for early childhood education spending. High quality childcare for working parents is costly and in short supply with friends and family being the first teachers. Exposure to language, vocabulary (in any language), social reciprocity, and activities that increase attention span in the the first years of life have a lifetime effect on learning. Young parents have little time or money to spare. Free books arriving monthly in the mail inspire a love of books and reading for children- and their parents. Club members fundraise yearly to fund the cost of books, enroll children, contact parents for address changes and work with local post offices to pick up returned books. Volunteers drop of those returned books at the new addresses, which costs less than remailing.
Approved
This project is "Approved". This means that the district leadership has reviewed and approved the allocation of district funds for this project. Once the funds from the district have been issued, the status of the project will be changed to "Paid".
