United Way of Southwest Michigan Launches National Reading Month Campaign to Bolster “Dolly Parton’s

ST. JOSEPH, MI (March 3, 2025) – March is National Reading Month, and United Way of Southwest Michigan and our community partners at Honor Credit Union are launching a fundraising campaign to assist in sustaining Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties. United Way has a goal of $50,000 in new donations during the month to help meet the sustainability goal for the program.

United Way of Southwest Michigan is currently implementing strategies to sustain this popular program for not only the children currently enrolled, but to begin enrollment for new children, which was put on hold in early 2024 when funding gaps appeared. With your help, we can make a major impact on reading levels in our area!

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library provides books free of charge to all children under the age of 5 and their families, regardless of income. However, the cost for United Way to provide this program is close to $35 per child per year. Currently, nearly 5,300 children are enrolled in the program in Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties. 

To sustain our current enrollment in the program, United Way of Southwest Michigan needs approximately $185,000 annually. To begin allowing new enrollees, the program needs at least $250,000 annually. While several local foundations, sponsorships and grants have been secured for this program, there is still a gap in funding. This is where we are asking area small businesses and local donors to assist us.

“Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has been one of United Way’s most beloved programs in our community for years,” states United Way of Southwest Michigan President & CEO Anna Murphy. “United Way is confident that its many supporters—including those individuals and families who have benefited from it—will rally behind this fundraising effort and contribute to ensure this program will continue to serve as many children and families in Southwest Michigan as possible.”

Besides the joy a child gets from receiving a book every month in the mail, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is important to Southwest Michigan because local statistics show children are still in need of assistance. Nearly 60% of third graders in Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties are not meeting reading proficiency. 75% of children who are poor readers in third grade will be poor readers in high school. Many of these children will struggle or eventually drop out of school.

In order for children to possess the proper reading skills in third grade, efforts at developing literacy abilities need to begin much sooner. Research shows that the learning environment at home, even from the very birth of a child, has a tremendous impact on the short-term and long-term reading capability of a child. If children adopt early reading habits at a young age with the assistance of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, we sincerely hope to change these statistics and better prepare our children for the future.

Thus far, more than 50% of the program has reached sustainability thanks to generous donations from our sustainability partners, including event sponsor Honor Credit Union, and our annual series sponsors Silver Beach Pizza, Michigan Works Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren, and Gast Manufacturing.

Additional integral partners to the program include: Great Start Collaborative of Berrien County (Berrien RESA), Heritage Southwest Intermediate School District (Cass County), Van Buren Intermediate School District, Midwest Energy & Communications, A Gift from Sally Esman (via Kalamazoo Community Foundation), The Pokagon Fund, Michigan Gateway Community Foundation, The McLoughlin Family Foundation, Jerry & Terry French, The Wood Foundation, The Leighton Foundation, The Edward & Irma Hunter Foundation, The De Groot Family Foundation, and the Frederick S. Upton Foundation.

About United Way of Southwest Michigan
United Way of Southwest Michigan works to create a united & resilient community where everyone contributes, belongs, and thrives. We harness resources from corporate, nonprofit, and public partners to address our community's most pressing challenges and make lasting change. Join us in giving, advocacy, and volunteering by visiting uwsm.org