{"id":16720,"date":"2018-11-13T11:35:19","date_gmt":"2018-11-13T16:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/?p=16720"},"modified":"2019-09-27T09:08:17","modified_gmt":"2019-09-27T13:08:17","slug":"give-your-child-the-gift-of-books-and-literacy-for-the-new-year-imagination-library-comes-to-wawa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/2018\/11\/13\/give-your-child-the-gift-of-books-and-literacy-for-the-new-year-imagination-library-comes-to-wawa\/","title":{"rendered":"Give your child the gift of books and literacy for the New Year – Imagination Library comes to Wawa!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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One of the most important things a parent can do is to instill a love of reading in their children. Stories with a rich vocabulary can stimulate the imagination and understanding of our world. This was something that Dolly Parton understood when she began the Imagination Library. She writes:<\/p>\n

\u201cHi everybody. This is Dolly.
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\u201cBefore he passed away, my <\/em>Daddy told me the Imagination Library was probably the most important thing I had ever done. I can\u2019t tell you how much that meant to me because I created the Imagination Library as a tribute to my Daddy. He was the smartest man I have ever known but I know in my heart his inability to read probably kept him from fulfilling all of his dreams.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cInspiring kids to love to read became my mission. In the beginning, my hope was simply to inspire the children in my home county but here we are today with a worldwide program that gives a book a month to well over 1 million children.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, I have not done this alone. The real heroes of our story are the thousands of local organizations who have embraced my dream and made it their own. They raise millions of dollars each year and wake up every day with a passion to make sure their kids have every opportunity to succeed.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been quite a journey but we have so much more left to do. I would love for your community to join our family so please take the time to explore our website. Let\u2019s share this dream that all children should grow up in a home full of books.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe first step is always the hardest, but you\u2019ll never know unless you try\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Dolly\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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And how does this relate to Wawa?<\/p>\n

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Cathy Cannon was inspired by her grandson’s membership in this program. She had gone with him to check the mail, and he received a book that day. She questioned her daughter about why he was getting books in the mail. “I thought it was a wonderful program. My grandson looked forward to checking the mail for his free book every month. He would get his parents to read the new book as soon as it came. It encourages them to read, it gets them ready for school. It is just nice that the parents spend the time – and the kids really enjoy them.”<\/p>\n

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She inquired further, and discovered that in order to bring it to Wawa – she needed a “Local Champion”. With all her information she approached the Rotary Club of Wawa with a presentation, and they agreed to support it. Russell Reid of the Rotary Club of Wawa explained that “Literacy” is one of their six areas of focus:<\/p>\n