Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

It is time to choose the VERY FIRST Charity of the Week!  But first, an aside:

In their book Freakonomics, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner wrote about a lot of interesting analyses of very large datasets - the type of analyses that have conclusions that are difficult to prove but are fascinating (and very interesting) nonetheless.  They wrote chapters on drug dealers who live with their moms, evil real estate agents, (un)common baby names, etc.  But one study that particularly stuck out in my mind was on the presence or absence of books in the home.  It turns out that kids who had books in their homes before they started school do statistically better on standardized tests than kids without books.  Now, this may not seem terribly surprising - until you account for the amount of reading that the parents did to their kids.  It doesn't matter.  In some very large datasets of standardized test scores, it turns out that it didn't matter if the books were ever used; it just mattered that they were there.  That's obviously controversial (and it led to some pretty serious yelling matches with some of my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers when I first read Freakonomics), and nobody would advocate for less reading, but the point is that books in the home seem to start some kind of learning culture that translates to more correct answers on standardized tests, down the road.  Interesting.

Dolly Parton, of guitar-playing, singing, acting, and bra-size fame, is trying to make sure that all kids have access to books in their home.  Through her Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, Dolly sends kids a new book, every month, until they start school.  What a great idea.  Now, I doubt that Dolly based her idea on some relatively obscure analyses of standardized test scores.  She just knows that reading is fundamental to learning, is an incredible tool for developing imagination, and is just plain required to succeed in this world.  She also knows that creating a culture of reading, at an early age, helps kids get ahead.  And finally, that while libraries are a great resource for kids of all socioeconomic levels, some poor kids in rural parts of the U.S. and other places (the org started with a focus on Appalachia and has grown to serve countries around the world) do not have realistic access to libraries before they make it to Kindergarten.  

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library started in 1996 with Dolly's goal to make sure that every kid in her home town in rural Tennessee had access to books.  And not just any books, but carefully chosen books (by literacy experts) that were age-appropriate, new (not used), and chosen to get kids excited about learning.  The endeavor was such a success that in 2000, Dolly decided to launch the Imagination Library as a much broader organization, reaching out to any community that wanted to try it.  To date, the group has organized the mailing of over 40 million books.  Today, 700,000 kids in 1600 communities, in several countries around the world receive a book every month.  Mark my words, those communities are or will be better off for it.

So the very first Charity of the Week is Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.  Check out the website for more information and check here for the Library's official blog.  In a couple of days, I will send in my first donation of 2014 and will post information here about how you can support this great organization, should you feel so inclined.  

Happy Friday! -grant

P.S.  This blog will be absolutely full of asides.