Every Hoosier should grow up with books
By Ben Battaglia
For the first few years of my career, I worked for one of the world’s largest nonprofits focused on youth mentoring. One high school student that I spent a lot of time with was Charlie.
Charlie grew up in a tiny, two bedroom apartment with his single mom and toddler sibling. When I first visited Charlie’s home, I quickly noticed a distinct difference from my own upbringing:
There wasn’t a book in sight.
He and his toddler sibling didn’t have a book to their name…I quickly learned that Charlie wasn’t alone.
Across the U.S., children who grow up in low-income families have significantly fewer books in their home than their affluent peers. And early literacy skills are high-leverage for long-term outcomes—in short, developing reading skills early can have a large impact on a child’s future. Books in a child’s home are associated with greater kindergarten readiness, higher third-grade reading scores, and even better high school graduation rates.
If we can get books in the hands of more kids, not only can we nurture their imaginations, but we can also bolster their future—and the arc of our state.
That’s why we created Hoosiers Read, a nonprofit initiative, focused on getting more books in the hands of young Hoosiers. This was an idea born out of the Mitch Daniels Leadership Foundation, and like so many great things, it’s possible because of Dolly Parton.
Yeah, you read that right.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL), is the most effective early childhood book gifting program in operation. DPIL mails free, age-appropriate, high-quality books monthly to millions of children from birth to age five—no matter their family’s income. Local partners like Hoosiers Read provide the funding and get kids signed up—Dolly and her team take care of the rest.
Thanks to the generosity of nonprofits across Indiana, The Imagination Library is already available to Hoosier children in a few zip codes. But like Ohio, Tennessee, North Carolina, Delaware, and many other states have done—we want every Hoosier child to have access to free books. Our goal is to see this program in every county and zip code—accessible to any and every child.
We’re excited to launch our first two zip codes, 46201 and 46203, thanks to funding from the Shepherd Community & the Minnie Hartmann Childcare Center. And we’ve got more zip codes coming soon!
Want to help us get more books in the hands of kids?
Spread the word about Hoosiers Read so that more children can sign up!
Make a donation to help us bring the program to new zip codes
Shoot us a note if you’d like to help us get started in a new zip!
As Dolly says—“Create a love for books and reading—give every child the start they deserve in education and life.” Here’s to more Hoosier children growing up with books!