This message is for all parents of young children in Garvin County: You hold the key to your child's future.
Cindy Byrd (left) and Trish Little show brochures available at libraries in Garvin County about the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. The program will send a free book every month to all children in Garvin County from birth to their 5th birthday. Registration forms are available at the libraries or from child care providers.
The gift of reading speaks volumes for your child and greatly impacts his or her opportunities. Experts agree that reading to a child every day can spark imaginations and inspire early education.
Now, the Dolly Parton Imagination Library has arrived in Garvin County. What this means to you: your child will receive a new book every month from the time he or she is born until the child is five yours old, and it is absolutely free. All children are eligible until their fifth birthday as long as they reside in Garvin County.
"These moments with your child will last a lifetime," said Trish Little, Smart Start South Central coordinator. "Each time you read with your child, you help her to dream more, learn more, care more and be more."
Smart Start South Central is an early childhood initiative that is based in the Center of Continuing Education and Community Services at East Central University in Ada.
The reading program is made possible through a grant from Chesapeake Energy Corporation to Smart Start South Central. Ada Regional United Way and the Chickasaw Nation have also collaborated with Smart Start to bring DPIL to Garvin County. Spaces are limited, so sign up as soon as possible.
Registration forms are available at the Nora S. Warren Memorial Library in Pauls Valley, Lindsay Public Library, Maysville Public Library, Wynnewood Public Library and Stratford Public Library.
Parents also can ask child care providers for a form. Once the form is completed, it should be mailed to the address given on the back.
The first book will arrive in 8-10 weeks and then a new book will arrive each month until a child turns 5. Parents will need to re-enroll their child each year until age 5.
"Please take advantage of this incredible opportunity. You owe it to your child and their future," Little said.
For more information about Smart Start South Central and its programs, contact Trish Little or Cindy Byrd at 580-559-5367.
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