Building a stronger Chester county community, one book at a time.
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Exciting news for parents and preschool children in the Chester County area! Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is now available to all children living in Chester County! Children from birth to age five who live in Chester County can now be enrolled in the Chester County Imagination Library program to receive a free book in the mail once a month.
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How is it supported?
The Chester County Imagination Library is powered locally by Arts Holding Hands and Hearts (AHHAH) in partnership with the Justamere Foundation and donations from other foundations, corporations, and individuals like you. Our goal through this program is to increase literacy levels for preschool age children living in Chester County, PA, to provide opportunities for positive family experiences and engagement, and to foster a love of reading in the greater Chester County community.
How does it work?
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library works with local affiliates to mail free, high-quality books to preschool children once a month, no matter their family’s income. Each title is selected by a panel of early childhood literacy experts, who choose books to meet the age-specific developmental needs of young children. A list of selected books for each age group is available here.
CCIL Flyers
![Free books for Chester County kids! Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, powered locally by AHHAH (Arts Holding Hands And Hearts, Inc.) and Justamere Foundation. Any child, from birth to age five who lives in Chester County, is eligible to receive a FREE book mailed directly to their home once per month through the Chester County Imagination Library. There are no donation or income requirements. Thanks to AHHAH, the Justamere Foundation, and our community donors, this program is completely FREE for Chester County families. Enroll your child today using the QR code, link, or registration forms. [QR code in lower left corner] Scan here to learn more, enroll a child, or make a donation. Or, visit ahhah.org/ccil.](/uploads/1/3/3/6/133613873/eng1_orig.png)
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![Free books for Chester County kids! Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, powered locally by AHHAH (Arts Holding Hands And Hearts, Inc.) and Justamere Foundation. Who is eligible? All children, from birth to age five, who live in Chester County. What do they receive? Children receive free, high-quality, and age-appropriate books. Where can they get these books? Books are mailed directly to children's homes in Chester County. When will they receive books? Once registered, children will receive their first book within 6-8 weeks and will continue receiving one book per month until they reach age five. Why is this important for the Chester County community? Many children in Chester County (particularly in Coatesville and Southern Chester County) are reading below grade level. This program will help to close the word gap and raise literacy levels in the community. How can I help? Share the program and registration link with eligible families and/or donate as an individual or a sponsor. $2.50 = one book for one child and $30 = one year of books for one child. (Contact chescoimaginationlibrary@gmail.com for sponsor opportunities.) [QR code in lower left corner] Scan here to learn more, enroll a child, or make a donation. Or, visit ahhah.org/ccil.](/uploads/1/3/3/6/133613873/eng2_orig.png)
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![¡Libros gratis para niños del Condado de Chester! Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, powered locally by AHHAH (Arts Holding Hands And Hearts, Inc.) y Justamere Foundation. Cualquier niño desde que nace hasta los cinco años de edad que vive en el Condado de Chester es eligible para recibir un libro gratis enviado directamente a su hogar una vez por mes mediante Imagination Library del Condado de Chester. No se requieren donaciones ni prueba de ingreso. Gracias a AHHAH, la Fundación Justamere, y los donadores de la comunidad, este programa es completamente gratuito para las familias del Condado de Chester. Inscriba a su hijo hoy usando el Código QR, el enlace, o el formulario de registro. [Código QR en esquina baja izquierda] Escanea aquí para saber más, inscribir a un niño o hacer donación. O, visite ahhah.org/ccil.](/uploads/1/3/3/6/133613873/esp1_orig.png)
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![¡Libros gratis para niños del Condado de Chester! Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, powered locally by AHHAH (Arts Holding Hands And Hearts, Inc.) y Justamere Foundation. ¿Quién es eligible? Todos los niños desde que nacen hasta la edad de cinco años que viven en el Condado de Chester. ¿Qué reciben? Todos los niños reciben libros gratis de alta calidad y apropriados para su edad. ¿Dónde pueden obtener estos libros? Los libros son enviados directamente a su hogar en el Condado de Chester. ¿Cúando recibirán los libros? Una vez registrados los niños recibirán su primer libro entre 6 y 8 semanas y continuarán recibiendo un libro por mes hasta que cumplan cinco años de edad. ¿Por qué es importante para la comunidad del Condado de Chester? Muchos niños en el Condado de Chester (particularmente en Coatesville y en el Sur del Condado de Chester) leen por debajo del nivel de su grado. Este programa ayudará a ampliar la brecha de vocabulario y elevar los niveles de alfabetización en la comunidad. ¿Cómo puedo ayudar? Comparta el programa y el enlace de registro con las familias elegibles y/o done como un individual o un patrocinador. $2.50 = un libro para un niño y $30 = un año de libros para un niño. (Contacte chescoimaginationlibrary@gmail.com para oportunidades de patrocinar.) [Código QR en esquina baja izquierda] Escanea aquí para saber más, inscribir a un niño o hacer donación. O, visite ahhah.org/ccil.](/uploads/1/3/3/6/133613873/esp2_orig.png)
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CCIL CHildren's Book Club & Storytime
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Free monthly books aren't the only things children have to look forward to in Chester County! Thanks to the massive support CCIL has had over the past several years in partnership with the Justamere Foundation and Kennett Library, we have been able to set up the Children's Book Club & Storytime.
This program is a free book club and storytime for children ages 2-4. The Book Club & Storytime takes place on the first three Fridays of the month from 10:00-10:30 AM at the Kennett Library. To learn more about other AHHAH community programs, or to RSVP for the Children's Book Club & Storytime, use the buttons below! |
Bilingual Virtual Storytime
AHHAH is proud to introduce the CCIL Bilingual Storytime YouTube series in association with the Kennett Library, Justamere Foundation, and our community partners, with permission from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and the Penguin Publishing Group! Each month's storytime is available to watch on YouTube and features a selection from the Imagination Library read in English and Spanish by members of the AHHAH team and our partner organizations. For a list of all videos to date, visit the link below!
For CCIL Graduates
Congratulations! Your child has graduated from the Chester County Imagination Library program and will soon be heading off to kindergarten!
This is only the first of many future graduations and we hope you will celebrate it together. We hope that you enjoyed the books you received from CCIL and that they have sparked a love of reading in your child. Like many parents, you may be apprehensive about your child starting kindergarten, but, by enrolling them in CCIL and reading with them, you have already given them an advantage and prepared them for one of the most difficult parts of early education.
Did you know that children who participate in the Imagination Library program for 3 or more years are 29% more likely to be prepared for kindergarten?
The goal of CCIL is to increase literacy levels for preschool-age children living in Chester County, to provide opportunities for positive family experiences and engagement, and to foster a love of reading in the greater Chester County community. At Arts Holding Hands and Hearts (AHHAH), the nonprofit powering CCIL, we hope that we have achieved this goal with you and your child. We'd love to continue the relationship between AHHAH and your family. Here are several ways to do that:
This is only the first of many future graduations and we hope you will celebrate it together. We hope that you enjoyed the books you received from CCIL and that they have sparked a love of reading in your child. Like many parents, you may be apprehensive about your child starting kindergarten, but, by enrolling them in CCIL and reading with them, you have already given them an advantage and prepared them for one of the most difficult parts of early education.
Did you know that children who participate in the Imagination Library program for 3 or more years are 29% more likely to be prepared for kindergarten?
The goal of CCIL is to increase literacy levels for preschool-age children living in Chester County, to provide opportunities for positive family experiences and engagement, and to foster a love of reading in the greater Chester County community. At Arts Holding Hands and Hearts (AHHAH), the nonprofit powering CCIL, we hope that we have achieved this goal with you and your child. We'd love to continue the relationship between AHHAH and your family. Here are several ways to do that:
Pay it forward
As you know, CCIL is offered at NO COST to all families in Chester County, but of course, there is a cost associated with printing and mailing the books your child enjoyed. It costs AHHAH approximately $2.90 per child per month, to deliver books to the over 10,000 children currently registered.
If you feel this program was beneficial and fun for your child, and if you are able, please consider "paying it forward" with a gift of at least $35 to provide one child with one year of new and age-appropriate books.
To donate, click the "Donate to CCIL" button below.
If you feel this program was beneficial and fun for your child, and if you are able, please consider "paying it forward" with a gift of at least $35 to provide one child with one year of new and age-appropriate books.
To donate, click the "Donate to CCIL" button below.
Donate your books to AHHAH
Give your books a second life by donating them to a Pop Up Lending Library!
AHHAH runs the Pop-Up Lending Library (“PULL”) program for children with stations all over southern Chester County. PULL relies on donated books to keep our stations stocked so please consider passing on books that your children have outgrown to PULL.
We also need volunteers to do the work of collecting, processing and distributing the donated books – and to build and host additional PULL stations. For more details, click the button below.
AHHAH runs the Pop-Up Lending Library (“PULL”) program for children with stations all over southern Chester County. PULL relies on donated books to keep our stations stocked so please consider passing on books that your children have outgrown to PULL.
We also need volunteers to do the work of collecting, processing and distributing the donated books – and to build and host additional PULL stations. For more details, click the button below.
Attend an AHHAH event
AHHAH hosts various events throughout the year to promote and fund our programming, including CCIL! Click the button below to learn more about upcoming events.
Share CCIL in your community
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Share CCIL with eligible families: Copy and paste the following URL to share CCIL via email with friends and family who have children under age 5 and who live in Chester County: https://www.ahhah.org/ccil.html
Join AHHAH's email list: Sign up to receive our monthly e-newsletter about all aspects of AHHAH's work in Chester County. Contact your elected officials: We are working hard to expand the Imagination Library program throughout Pennsylvania, but to do that, we need help from the PA House of Representatives and Senate. They must vote to support the program through the State budget which would reduce costs for affiliate nonprofits like AHHAH, and allow us to serve more children in PA. Please contact your local Representatives and Senators and ask them to support the Statewide Expansion of Imagination Library in PA. To find and contact your elected officials, visit https://www.palegis.us/. |
Pictured above left is PA Senator Carolyn Comitta, who has introduced legislation to expand Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Statewide in PA.
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Keystone Scholars Program
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AHHAH and the Chester County Imagination Library are proud to partner with the Pennsylvania Treasury in support of the Keystone Scholars Program, which provides a $100 grant for higher education savings to every child born or adopted in Pennsylvania on or after January 1, 2019.
The grant is automatically deposited in an account created by the Treasury Department 4-6 months after a child is born. Parents can sign up to activate their child's account on the Keystone Scholars website. Together with promoting early literacy through CCIL, saving for higher education with a Keystone Scholars account is another valuable way to invest in your child's future! |
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Support CCIL!
The Chester County Imagination Library is a community supported program. It is funded by donations from foundations, corporations, and individuals like you! Please consider making a donation today to help us inspire the next generation of Chester County children to become tomorrow’s readers and leaders.
keep in touch
Follow us on Facebook! Please share your Imagination Library questions, stories, and photos with us via email at [email protected].