Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

The Dolly Parton's Imagination Library (DPIL) is a unique program designed to kickstart a lifelong love of reading. Council are proud to be the driver of this fantastic initiative, partnering with United Way to bring the program to the Tamworth Local Government Area.

All babies born from 2019 currently living in the Tamworth Local Government Area are eligible to access the program. Through the program, each child will receive one free physical book to keep, per month, every month from birth until the age of 5. The Tamworth Local Government Area Program turned five (5) in January 2024 with our first five (5) year olds graduating and continuing every month since.

Not only does this provide children access to an abundance of carefully selected books, it also helps to assist them in developing reading and comprehension skills from a young age and helps build family connections.

This program is proudly financially supported by Tamworth Regional Council, local Clubs, small and large businesses, individuals and organisations. The kind financial support allows for this Program to continue to deliver books for free to children (0-5 years of age) in the Tamworth Local Government Area.

All financial donations made to the Tamworth LGA Program stay in the Tamworth LGA.

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Note: donations are made directly to United Way Australia, not via TRC or the Library

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Together we can give all children in Tamworth Local Government Area a chance to thrive

Tamworth Regional Council partnered with United Way Australia in 2019 to bring Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to children in the Tamworth Local Government Area. You can partner with us to bring the magic of a library into the home, with a gift of a book every month up to the age of five for children living in our Local Government Area. Every child in the program is given real, physical books to keep, and kick start a lifelong love of reading.

We believe in bringing books to homes, where parents and caregivers are their child's first and most important teacher, creating precious bonds from sharing a book. Putting a book in a child's hands opens a new world to them. While it may seem simple, it's a proven first step towards much more in a child's life, sparking curiosity and building family bonds in the early years.

Research has shown that investing time, effort and resources in the early years of a child's life can have a significant impact on their success as an adult. The Importance of Literacy: Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Tamworth - United Way Australia.

Your generous tax deductible donation will encourage children's love of reading and life-long learning. Children will receive a new book free of charge direct to their mail boxes every month until their fifth birthday. Also included are parent tip sheets to help in the shared reading experience.

"This program is one of the most important ways I know to improve the educational opportunities for children. Every child has a dream and the seeds of these dreams are often found in books. My Imagination Library aims to inspire children and help turn their dreams into the promise of a bright future."

Small and large businesses, organisations, clubs, and individuals can donate to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library with any amount big or small, it's always appreciated. We do have the below sponsorship tiers for consideration:

BRONZE Sponsorship - $540 - sponsor 5 children for 12 months

SILVER Sponsorship - $1,080 - sponsor 10 children for 12 months

GOLD Sponsorship - $5,400 - sponsor 50 children for 12 months

PLATINUM Sponsorship - $10,800 - sponsor 100 children for 12 months

DIAMOND Sponsorship - $27000 - $54000 – sponsor 50 – 100 children for the full 5 year programme

Thank you to our following sponsors:

Diamond: Tamworth Regional Council, United Way, Wests Entertainment Group, Joblink Plus

Platinum: McLean Foundation, Baiada (Steggles)

Gold: Lions Club of Tamworth, Tamworth City Toyota

Silver: Tamworth West Rotary Club, Tamex Transport, Hill Lockart Architects, Rotary Club of Tamworth Sunrise Inc, Peel Valley Uniting Church, Dpartmnt, CWA Tamworth Evening Branch (CWA), Greater New England Bank, Singh Property Group, Partner Now Property, Skippy’s Pressure Cleaning and Soft Washing, Water Industry Operations Association (WIOA), Tamworth City Lions Club, Tamworth Indoor Sports Centre/Inflatable World

Bronze: Redimix Tamworth, Siddons Plumbing Pty Limited, Stor-Mate, Campbell Family, Buildwise Certification, Kootingal CWA Branch, Teys, Chris Watson Travel, Regional Australia Bank, Forsyths, Tamex, Carr Legal, Manilla Lions Club

Did you know…

Dolly Parton founded the Program in 1995 in East Tennessee in tribute to her late illiterate father.

The Program was launched in Australia in 2013 with Dolly being the founder however, Dolly not funding the Program here in Australia. The Program is financially funded on a local level.

The program is a community-based, early literacy intervention program that brings the magic of a library into the home of a child with the gift of a book each month from birth to five years. In Australia the program is licenced by United Way Australia (UWA), a leading non-profit organisation who work in partnership with government, local councils, businesses and community groups to deliver the program.

Australian country music artists Mark and Jay O’Shea discovered the program while living in America. Being connected to the Tamworth Country Music scene, the duo spoke with Council staff and organised for Col Murray and John Sommerlad, the Mayor and a Council Director at the time, to meet with UWA to explore the possibility of starting the program in Tamworth.

The program was formally proposed to Council, with a whole of community approach being adopted for the program and launched on 1 January 2019. Council staff work with Tamworth Hospital’s SWIS-H staff to enrol children at birth, with almost 3,500 – 3,700 children registered on the Program ongoing.

Since the launch of the program in the Tamworth region, Council invests upwards of $100,000 each financial year supporting the program, alongside donations from local businesses, community groups and Individuals.

In partnership with the Imagination Library and UWA, Council continues working to raise awareness about this very important program and encourage enrolment among families, hosting events and initiatives to promote reading and provide access to books.

In January 2024, the program celebrated five years in the Tamworth Region, seeing the first year of graduates.