ENMU hopes to partner with Imagination Library

PORTALES — Reading is a lifelong skill and it can be beneficial to start learning as soon as possible, but not everyone might have access to the right reading material for the youngest children.

The Eastern New Mexico University Foundation is looking to partner with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to change that and bring free literature for children from birth to 5-years-old to Roosevelt and De Baca County families.

Curry County began participating in 2015.

The Dolly Parton Foundation runs the Imagination Library nationally, distributing books to counties and cities. Both Roosevelt and De Baca counties are on board to start a joint program.

“We met last week with schools, local non-profits and civic groups to see how we could pull our resources to get this service to our youth,” said ENMU Foundation Executive Director Noelle Bartl. “New Mexico is always near last on the national lists for literacy. With poverty and literacy rates we have we want to improve them for our local youth.”

Edwina Gower, wife of ENMU President Jeff Elwell, is heading the effort to partner the Dolly Parton Foundation with the ENMU Foundation to bring the program to the two counties.

“They’ve reached out to Roosevelt County for the last five years, but there are certain requirements you need to have in place first,” Gower said.

Gower said that in order to establish a local Imagination Library program, the county needed a 501c3 non-profit organization with local volunteers to do the legwork and somewhere to do data processing for personal information. ENMU Foundation fit the bill perfectly, Gower said. For De Baca County, Gower wants to partner with the school district.

Once the foundation is in place, it will need to do a little fundraising in the community. Gower said the cost of the program would be about $2.10 per book, per child, with a book sent to families each month. Using population data from the foundation, she estimates there are over 1,400 children across both counties who would be the appropriate age for the program.

She expects the program will cost less than $40,000 a year for both counties and said she has already found sponsors in the community willing to match donations covering over half that.

“I can raise $40,000 for this kind of program in these counties. Definitely. There’s no doubt in my mind about that,” Gower said.

The partnership will go up for approval at the ENMU Foundation board meeting on Sept. 29. When approved, Gower will put together a board and hopes to have the program established and running in late October before Halloween to take advantage of the holiday’s appeal to young children.

“We want to offer a treat for even the youngest citizens in the county,” Gower said. “It’s a natural fit with so many kids out at events and such.”

Once the program is up and running, families will be able to sign up to receive books locally and later online through the Dolly Parton Foundation’s website. Gower said all personal information provided to the foundation would be secure and used only for the purpose of distributing books.