JASPER, Tenn.—United Way of Greater Chattanooga and Marion County Mayor Howell Moss are hosting a public celebration and program enrollment at Jasper Elementary to announce the arrival of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Marion County on Feb. 28, 9:30 a.m. CDT.

United Way, as part of its Project Ready for School initiative, has partnered with the County Mayor and the Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation to offer the Imagination Library program to children in Marion County. Children enrolled in the program will receive a new, age-appropriate book in the mail each month from birth to age five at no cost to the family. Marion County has approximately 1,680 children under the age of five, all of whom are eligible to enroll in the program.

Imagination Library enrollment brochures will be available for parents at the kickoff celebration. Any child under the age of five who lives in Marion County and has a parent to sign the form will be added to the mailing list and will receive a book a month until their fifth birthday. Additionally, children who attend the celebration will enjoy a special reading of the children’s book The Little Engine That Could by Mayor Moss.

“Under the leadership of Mayor Moss, residents and employees in Marion County raised about $20,000 as part of the county’s first United Way campaign,” said Eva Dillard, president of United Way of Greater Chattanooga. “Mayor Moss approved for some of these campaign dollars to provide the initial funds to launch this exciting book program.”

United Way is also supporting the program in Hamilton County, Tenn. and is currently working with the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy and local community action teams to offer the resources to children in Dade and Walker counties in Georgia.

United Way is also offering other resources to parents and their children as part of the organization’s Project Ready for School initiative. These resources include free activities and toys in developmental kits, annual “learning checkups,” and individualized parenting education and training. These resources, in addition to the Imagination Library books, are used to encourage parents to be more involved in their child’s development and first learning experiences.

To support this program or to enroll a child, contact United Way at (423) 752-0300.