A new Northern Virginia branch of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is getting started in Alexandria. The nonprofit group is beginning its fundraising campaign this month and hopes to start enrolling children by summer 2026.
Country singer Dolly Parton started her nonprofit Imagination Library in 1995. The program provides free, monthly, age-appropriate books to children up to age 5. Children enrolled from birth receive 60 books by the time they age out of the program.
Worldwide, the program has gifted more than 280 million books. The Dollywood Foundation covers overhead costs and negotiates wholesale pricing. Local branches cover the cost of the books and shipping through fundraising.
The new Northern Virginia branch hopes to start enrolling kids in the City of Alexandria in summer 2026. It will then expand the program into other Northern Virginia areas.
“Education begins in early childhood, and it is where we see the greatest need to focus on learning in order to narrow our children’s achievement gaps that we see develop and widen in their later school years. The NOVA Imagination Library understands that focus and the immeasurable value reading brings to our early childhood learners,” said Amy Jackson, former vice mayor of Alexandria and a member of the NOVA Imagination Library board member.
The NOVA Imagination Library is currently accepting donations online. A $20 donation will provide books to one child for a year.
Feature image, stock.adobe.com
