In the nearly three decades since Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library began sending out free books to children under 5 years of age, more than 250 million books have made their way into little hands around the world, fostering an early love of reading and improving literacy rates in the process.

Now, little hands in Chanhassen, Victoria, Carver and Chaska are eligible for those books as well, thanks in part to the Chanhassen Rotary.

“It’s an epic program,” said Maud Duggan, public image chair for the Chanhassen Rotary.

In 1995, country music legend Dolly Parton founded Imagination Library through The Dollywood Foundation. She created the program as a tribute to her father Robert Lee Parton.

“He was the smartest man I have ever known, but I know in my heart his inability to read probably kept him from fulfilling all of his dreams,” Parton states on the Imagination Library website. “Inspiring kids to love to read became my mission.” 

Rotary members learned about the Imagination Library program in September 2023 from Minnetonka couple Barbara and Loren Nelson, retired teachers who had great success bringing Imagination Station to Grant County, New Mexico.

“We all got really excited,” Duggan said. “Literacy is very important to Rotary.” 

Earlier this fall, the Chanhassen Rotary became an official program affiliate for the Imagination Library, sponsoring books for preschool aged kids from birth through age five in four zip codes in the southwest metro including 55315, 55317, 55318 and 55386. 

Residents in those zip codes can sign up through Imagination Library to receive a free, age-appropriate book for their child each month. Aside from age and location, there are no other requirements to qualify for the free books. Costs are covered through a partnership between the program and the affiliate with the program covering books and operations while the affiliate covers the cost of postage. 

The Chanhassen Rotary received a grant to get the program started and is currently funded through June 2025. They have recently started reaching out to local businesses to solicit additional donations to keep the program running beyond the end of the school year. 

So far, more than 700 local children have enrolled in the program. Overall, the state of Minnesota has 36,700 participants.

“Minnesota’s very behind in taking advantage of the program,” Duggan said. 

The Chanhassen Rotary is hoping to boost those numbers.

“Statistically, literacy rates change dramatically with the program,” Duggan said. “And not just for kids. Adults, too. Reading at home, touching books, having books at home, they’re all the building blocks to lifelong literacy and success.”

Melissa Hansen is the secretary of the Chanhassen Rotary and the manager of marketing and communications for Easter Carver County’s Community Education. From her office in the Family Learning Center in Chaska, she has seen firsthand the role that access to books plays in preschool education.

“I know the importance of it,” she said. “This sets them up for success.”

Hansen has worked with preschool teachers at the Family Learning Center and throughout the district to get the word out about the program.

“It just takes a little bit of education to get people on board,” she said. “There are really no downsides.” 

The Rotary’s goal is to get 20 percent of eligible kids signed up in their first year of operation, Hansen said.

“I think we’re doing pretty well,” she said. “We know there’s a need and a want for it.” 

The want has been evident by residents in adjacent cities asking for their zip codes to be covered as well. The Rotary is currently working to add 55331 (covering the remainder of Chanhassen as well as Excelsior, Tonka Bay, Shorewood and Minnetrista) and all of Waconia to the program. 

“We want to help the community to take advantage of this gift from Dolly Parton,” Duggan said. 

For those whose children have aged out of the program, Hansen encourages people to consider making a donation to the Chanhassen Rotary to support the program. “Who doesn’t want future generations to benefit?” she asked.

Duggan said that each child costs the affiliate $2.75 a month or $33 a year.

“Any donation is going to go very far,” Hansen said.

For more information or to register your child for Imagination Library, visit www.imaginationlibrary.com.

To support the Chanhassen Rotary’s Imagination Library affiliate, visit www.chanhassenrotary.org and click on DONATE.