Despite Successful Fundraising, Imagination Library Still On Hold

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2011/12/BoyReadingToMomFront.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:150;s:6:"height";i:100;s:4:"file";s:32:"2011/12/BoyReadingToMomFront.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:3:{s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:32:"BoyReadingToMomFront-140x100.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:100;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:30:"BoyReadingToMomFront-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:32:"BoyReadingToMomFront-125x100.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:100;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:26549;s:14:"optimized_size";i:8933;s:7:"percent";d:66.349999999999994;}s:5:"sizes";a:4:{s:4:"full";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:60:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2011/12/BoyReadingToMomFront.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:22992;s:14:"optimized_size";i:5436;s:7:"percent";d:76.359999999999999;}s:9:"thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:66:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2011/12/BoyReadingToMomFront-80x80.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:3557;s:14:"optimized_size";i:3497;s:7:"percent";d:1.6899999999999999;}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}}}
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => success
        )

)
1657243431 
1323475200

Fund Shortage Still Disrupting Popular Imagination Library Literacy Program

Jefferson County Affiliate On Hold, Despite United Way Surpassing 2011 Fundraising Goal

Dan Carsen, Dec. 10, 2011

The Imagination Library, a popular literacy program that delivered a free book to children every month of their lives from birth through age five, is on hold in Jefferson County because of a lack of money.

“It was very distressing to hear. A lot of families rely on it. It’s their only source of reading material,” said Beth Wilder, president and executive director of the Literacy Council, a community organization combating illiteracy in central Alabama.

Many parents got the news in the mail through a little white postcard from the United Way of Central Alabama (UWCA). It says, “Due to a funding shortage, Imagination Library book deliveries in Jefferson County are temporarily being suspended.”

The Junior League of Birmingham (JLB) originally sponsored the program in Jefferson County in 2005. The UWCA partnered with JLB in 2009 and took over most of Imagination Library’s local fiscal responsibilities this year. Samuetta Nesbitt of UWCA said that enrollment in the program outpaced financial support, and that UWCA and its various partners hope to resume funding book deliveries to 7,000 children in Jefferson County by February of next year. The program costs roughly $23,000 a month and was available to all children, regardless of family income.

As announced in Birmingham Thursday, the UWCA fundraising campaign for 2011 — coordinated by more than 2,000 volunteers — beat the goal of $37,285,124 by more than $5,000. The UWCA Allocations Team met Friday and requested $150,000 out of the campaign money for the purposes of funding Imagination Library in 2012, which is still not enough to cover every child enrolled. The UWCA funds 80 agencies, and “none will get everything they asked for,” said Nesbitt.

The committee will be meeting again soon to look at grants, foundations, and other sources of funds for Imagination Library. Book delivery should start again in February, but Nesbitt said that, depending on how things go in the next two months, it may be necessary to prioritize delivery in favor of low-income families.

“Everybody’s making adjustments,” said Nesbitt. Donors are forced to make choices, often among programs that provide food and shelter, and “great programs like this one suffer.”

She added, “It was a hard decision to send the card out, but rather than disappoint the kids, we wanted to prepare them. We hope the children and families will bear with us through the interruption.”

According to Leigh Forstman, JLB President, “The JLB continues to provide volunteers and financial support to the program. We are saddened to hear of the decision by the United Way to temporarily suspend Imagination Library in Jefferson County. We hope the United Way is able to secure adequate funding to continue providing books for the children of our community.”

The Imagination Library is part of UWCA’s “Success By 6” initiative, which focuses on getting young children ready for school. As another part of that initiative, at no cost the UWCA sends specialists into daycare centers to test children, strengthen curricula, and help parents and staff find solutions to issues ranging from vision problems to unsafe playgrounds.

Allison Crotwell, mother of a four-year-old and a two-year-old who’d been getting books through the Imagination Library since birth, spoke highly of it: “When I heard there was a program that would help support my children’s literacy that way, I was like, absolutely. It was a no-brainer.” She added, “I was really impressed with the quality of the books and the caliber of the authors.”

The Imagination Library is an international effort founded in 1996 by country singer Dolly Parton and administered through her Dollywood Foundation. Christy Crouse, Regional Director for Alabama, described the situation in Jefferson County as unfortunate. Though she did not have precise numbers, she said funding-based disruptions in book delivery are not common, though they have been happening more frequently in the current economy.

Crouse explained that that national organization covers the costs of administering the program — a book-reviewing committee, the ordering and delivering process — and local sponsor groups cover the cost of the books. The first book delivered is the children’s classic “The Little Engine that Could.” The final book delivered is Nancy Carlson’s “Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come.”

Parton started the effort to ensure that children in her home county of Sevier in eastern Tennessee had access to reading material regardless of their families’ income. According to the group’s website, 40 million books have now been mailed to children in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Based on data from the National Center for Education Statistics, there are more than 92,000 functionally illiterate people in central Alabama.

Donations to the Imagination Library program in Jefferson County can be mailed to Imagination Library, P.O. Box 320189, Birmingham, AL 35232.

Photo by Woodley Wonder Works, courtesy of Flickr

 

DHS ends Temporary Protected Status for thousands from Nicaragua and Honduras

Some 76,000 people from Nicaragua and Honduras were covered by TPS, which provides protection from deportation and grants work permits to people from certain nations affected by war or natural disasters.

BRICS nations push back as Trump warns of tariffs

Leaders of the BRICS group of emerging economies meeting for their annual summit had hoped to downplay any differences with the U.S. But even a toned down group proclamation drew the ire of President Trump.

DOJ says no evidence Jeffrey Epstein had a ‘client list’ or blackmailed associates

The two-page memo outlines the "exhaustive review" the department conducted of the Epstein files in its possession, and also reiterates that Epstein died by suicide, contrary to some conspiracy theories.

Floods are getting more dangerous around the country, not just in Texas

The deadly floods in Central Texas were caused by extremely heavy rain. Climate change is causing even more rain to fall during the heaviest storms.

Near old Montana mine, special clinic for asbestos-related illness fights to survive

The Center for Asbestos Related Disease in Libby, Montana, closed in May after a court judgment. The clinic's federal funding is also threatened. Patients with scarred lungs worry about what's next.

4 things to know about the deadly Texas floods and ongoing search efforts

Search efforts continue for the dozens of people still missing after Friday's floods, as questions swirl over what went wrong. Here's what we know so far.

More Education Coverage