Dolly Parton program serves 500 children

Craven Smart Start said on May 14 that the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in Craven County has reached 500 children receiving books by mail each month. The local program sends one age-appropriate book each month to enrolled children from birth to age five at no cost to families, according to Craven Smart Start. The milestone was announced in a local release and reported by the Sun Journal. The program is part of Dolly Parton’s broader Imagination Library network, which operates in North Carolina through Smart Start and the North Carolina Partnership for Children. ### How does the Craven County program work? The Dolly Parton Imagination Library mails free books directly to children’s homes each month, according to the program’s national site. The books are selected by age group and are available to children from birth until their fifth birthday. The program says it is designed to encourage reading at home and build early familiarity with books. (smartstart.org) North Carolina’s Smart Start network administers the program across the state. Smart Start says state lawmakers first funded the statewide effort in 2017, with $3.5 million in the first year and $7 million in the second year of the state budget. Since 2017, more than 21 million books have been distributed to children in North Carolina, according to Smart Start. (imaginationlibrary.com) ### Who runs it locally in Craven County? Craven Smart Start is the local administrator for the program in Craven County, according to local and statewide program materials. The county program is one of the local partnerships that handle enrollment and outreach while the broader North Carolina effort is overseen by the North Carolina Partnership for Children. (smartstart.org) Cassandra Bennett, executive director of Craven Smart Start, said in an April 2 local report that the county had thousands of children already receiving books under the state-backed program and that maintaining or expanding access would require recurring local funding. Bennett said Craven Smart Start would seek local support to keep children in the community connected to books and early literacy resources. (newbernlive.org) ### Why is the 500-child figure notable now? The May 14 milestone comes after North Carolina’s statewide program said it had reached capacity with state funding. Smart Start says some counties closed new enrollment in the state account on February 1, 2025, while children already registered by that date would continue receiving books until age five. Counties with local funding could continue enrolling new children in separate local accounts, Smart Start said. (newbernlive.org) An April 2 report in New Bern Live said Craven County did not have a locally funded account at that time. That report said 3,864 children in Craven County were then receiving books and quoted Bennett saying local recurring funding would be needed to maintain and expand the program. ### What is the larger program behind it? (smartstart.org) Dolly Parton launched the Imagination Library in 1995 in her home county in east Tennessee, according to the organization’s website. The program now operates in five countries — the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and the Republic of Ireland — and distributes millions of books each month, the organization says. The national site says the model relies on shared funding from Dolly Parton and local community partners. (newbernlive.org) The North Carolina program says it serves children in every ZIP code in the state, though enrollment status can vary by county because of funding. Smart Start says families can use its registration page to check eligibility and county availability. ### What happens next for families in Craven County? Smart Start says children already enrolled continue receiving one book each month until age five. (imaginationlibrary.com) Families seeking to enroll can check county availability through the North Carolina Dolly Parton Imagination Library registration system, which Smart Start maintains online. Craven Smart Start has also encouraged families whose children have aged out of the program to donate books locally for reuse, according to the April 2 New Bern Live report. (smartstart.org) (newbernlive.org)