At the March 17, 2016 meeting of the Thursday Rotary Club of Hickory, a check for $25,000 was presented to Kim Holden, executive director, Catawba County Partnership for Children, to support Imagination Library. This donation will provide funds for the purchase and distribution of over 12,000 children’s books for area preschoolers.
Catawba County Partnership for Children’s Imagination Library program provides children who live in Catawba County one free book in the mail each month until their 5th birthday to ensure that children in the county begin school healthy and prepared for success. Since its inception in April 2011, the program has grown to serve more than 5,400 Catawba County children each month.
Dolly Parton originally launched the Imagination Library program in 1996 to benefit the children of her home county in East Tennessee. The program has since spread to more than 1,600 communities, serving more than 900,000 children, throughout the United States, Canada, Australia and the U.K. Parton’s
Imagination Library is in its second three-year partnership as an official service partner with Rotary International.
In 2011, the Thursday Rotary Club of Hickory donated $15,000 to help launch Imagination Library in Catawba County. Since then the Thursday Rotary Club of Hickory has contributed an additional $97,000 for a total of $112,000 making the purchase of 56,000 books possible. The recent donation was made possible by the Thursday Rotary Club of Hickory’s successful fundraising activities, highlighted in March by the annual Rotarian Idol fundraiser. The Thursday Rotary Club of Hickory’s ongoing commitment of financial support continues to provide necessary assistance, and is consistent with the club’s continued commitment to and support of local educational initiatives.
The Thursday Rotary Club of Hickory was founded in 1921 by Watt Shuford. In adherence to Rotary’s motto of “Service Above Self,” the club has a history of giving back to the community through its primary service avenue of education. For more information about The Thursday Rotary Club of Hickory, visit www.hickoryrotary.org.
