VANCEBURG | A Portsmouth woman is fulfilling her late sister’s dream of bringing the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program to Lewis County.
The Imagination Library program was started in 1996 by Parton as a way to encourage reading in children. It provides a free book each month to children under the age of 5 who live in the community covered by the program. Each book is mailed directly to the child’s home.
Robin Hamm-LaValley said last year her sister, Margo Hamm, had approached businesses, community members and friends about helping to fund this program.
According to Hamm-LaValley, Hamm, who had worked as an associate dean of the learning commons at Somerset College and a librarian at the Maysville Community and Technical College, was diagnosed with uterine cancer in February and succumbed to the illness in May, before she could see the program up and operating.
“Several people in the community, businesses and friends have been very generous and donated to the program in her honor,” Hamm-LaValley said. “I’m really happy to see this program coming to fruition.”
Hamm-LaValley also said the Lewis County Children’s Center for Fine and Performing Arts is the local sponsor for the program.
That was when Hamm’s sister stepped up to complete Hamm’s project.
“This program was important to Margo because it related so closely to the core of her profession as a librarian,” Hamm-LaValley said. “Promoting literacy had always been a part of Margo’s professional and personal calling in life. She believed that improving school readiness and literacy would impact primary, secondary, and post-secondary education and educational opportunities and equity for the Lewis County children enrolled in this program for many years to come.”
The cost of the program is $25 a year per child, but that money does not come from the families involved in the program, according to Hamm-LaValley.
“The $25 is basically to cover the cost of shipping and handling,” Hamm-LaValley said. “There is no cost to the families involved in the program. The foundation covers the cost of the books.”
Hamm-LaValley said her sister had a goal to raise enough funds for about 250 children for the first year.
“We’ve reached that goal,” she said.
There will be a kick off for the program at the Lewis County Public Library on Sept. 19 from 10 a.m. to noon. During the program, parents can sign up their children while enjoying book readings and light refreshments.
Those wishing to donate to the program can do so at the kick-off event or by contacting Robin Hamm-LaValley. There is also an account at the Citizens Deposit Bank in Vanceburg under Lewis County Imagination Library.
More information on the program can also be found on the Facebook page called Lewis County Imagination Library.
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