Harry Hamlin Reveals Sonâs House Burned Down
Dimitri Hamlin lost his home in the Palisades fire.
Read more >> : Cick here
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Music icon Dolly Parton's incredible gift to children in Salford
Parents are being urged to make sure their children don't miss out
Click Here to read in detail
She may well be known for her decades long career in country music, but icon Dolly Parton has another important role and thousands of Salford children are benefiting from her generosity.
Inspired by her fatherâs inability to read or write, Dolly started her Imagination Library in 1995 for children in her home county.
Today, her programme spans five countries and gifts over three million free books each month to children, regardless of the familyâs income.
Now a new Imagination Library has launched in Little Hulton, with families able to access books there and sign up to receive an age-appropriate book for their child every month from birth to age five completely free of charge.
Mum Juliet Agiye reading a book with son Asima at the launch of Dolly Partonâs Imagination Library at Little Hulton Library (Image: Salford City Council)Included in the selection of books are classics such as Where The Wild Things Are and Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? along with more recent publications like Sparkle and Splodge, Flower Block and A Walk in Summer.
It's open to those with babies born in 2024 and 2025 and all families have to do is put their postcode into the website here to see if they are entitled to the free books - either from the Little Hulton scheme, or one of the other seven Dolly Parton Imagination Libraries based within Salford, which are operated through various community organisations such as schools and charities.
Salford City Council has provided some additional funding to run the scheme, which 'is devoted to inspiring a love of reading in children.' and sees books specially wrapped and addressed to the child and delivered, at no cost to the family. When children turn five, they receive a graduation book and a special letter to mark the end of their involvement.
The scheme, which will also apply to babies born in 2026, was launched at Little Hulton library last month, where a storytelling session was held for youngsters and attended by councillors Jim Cammell, Mishal Saeed, Teresa Pepper and Hannah Robinson-Smith.
Councillors Mishal Saeed, Teresa Pepper, Jim Cammell and Hannah Robinson-Smith at the launch event (Image: Salford City Council)Coun Cammell, lead member for childrenâs and young peopleâs services at the council, said: âItâs great news that we are able to launch another Dolly Parton Imagination Library in Salford. This will add to our work to improve educational outcomes and literacy for early years children in the city. This is particularly important as there continues to be a gap in Salfordâs outcomes compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels.
âWe are committed to working in partnership with all our communities to ensure Salford is a great place, where children get the best start in life, and can learn and develop the skills they need to thrive. We have recently launched a gold standard literacy hub with the National Literacy Trust, and Dolly Partonâs Imagination Library will support the work of the hub by promoting reading from the early years of a childâs life."
Last year, Dolly celebrated her 200 millionth book gifted milestone since inception, with over six million of those going to families in the UK.
Meg Fletcher, regional director at The Dollywood Foundation from Dolly Parton Imagination Library, said: âWe are delighted to be working in partnership with Salford City Council to reach even more children in the community. Weâre building on a strong history of programmes in the city thanks to the tireless efforts of our champions and hope that families enjoy receiving the books each month.â
The councilâs Starting Life Well service, which works with all early years settings and schools, and the 0 to 19 years team in Little Hulton, will promote and support the programme.
Simon Donn, library development officer, leads a storytelling session with children from Little Hulton (Image: Salford City Council)Little Hulton Family Hub staff will be promoting the scheme and also using the books in their sessions with families.
The local library team in Little Hulton will also be supporting the programme, working with local families to promote literacy, and reading for pleasure more widely. There will be a set of books in each early years setting, school, the library and family hub as practical support for the project.
The council says that working towards Salford becoming a UNICEF Child-Friendly City is a priority in its corporate plan, 'to ensure Salford is a great place for children and young people to grow up and feel safe, cared for, heard and have quality opportunities to play, learn and work'.
Salford is the 18th most deprived area in the country. Figures from 2022 and 2023 have shown that childrenâs starting points from early years have been below national average and by the time the children leave primary school Key Stage 2 outcomes are below national levels.
The Dollywood Foundation UK reports there are more than 680 children are currently registered in Salford. Since 2013 2,000 children have been impacted by the programme and over 36,500 books have been sent to children in Salford.
The enrolment does not involve means testing, all children in the area can be enrolled and receive the same books regardless of background. To enrol, email West.Locality@salford.gov.uk.
