Ben Battaglia, is the Senior Director, Brand & Creative at Seismic and as marketing leader, loves bringing together science and story to create meaningful brand experiences that drive revenue. As a Class II Mitch Daniels Leadership Fellow, his Capstone project was starting a nonprofit called Hoosiers Read that partners with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to get free books in the hands of every young Hoosier. Most evenings you'll find Ben walking with his wife and kids, reading voraciously, watching The West Wing, or attempting to win star baker.

“You'll never do a whole lot unless you're brave enough to try.” — Dolly Parton

“I will urge that our purpose be bold, that if we err, we err on the side of action, of movement, of experiment. And that our aim be high.” — Mitch Daniels

Early childhood literacy has been at the tip-top of Hoosier newsfeeds over the last month, as the state partnered with the Lilly Foundation to invest a whopping $111M in early childhood literacy across Indiana. Governor Holcomb lauded the importance of this investment, saying, “Reading is fundamental to each student’s lifelong opportunities, and it’s foundational to the core of our state’s future.”  

I’ll be the first to celebrate the state’s largest investment ever in children’s literacy. This investment is targeted toward literacy interventions in school—instructional reading coaches, teacher training, targeted support for students, etc. And that’s a phenomenal step forward for Indiana.

However, a massive percentage of brain development and opportunity for alpha on literacy happens before a child even reaches school. Countless studies and metrics show that kids that read early, succeed. And that’s where Dolly Parton comes in. 

When Dolly met Mitch

In 1995, Dolly Parton launched her marquis global literacy program, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The concept? Mail free books monthly to every child under age 5 in order to increase access to books at home, inspire a love of reading in children, and increase childhood literacy. The program now serves millions of kids across the globe and more than 10 U.S. states use state funding to offer the program to every kid in their state.

Nearly 3 years ago, at the first MDLF Fellows Pitch Day, I proposed that we should bring Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to every kid in Indiana. We called the idea Hoosiers Read.

Since then, thanks to the support of the MDLF community, Hoosiers Read has gone from ideas on a slide to real impact on our state. Fellows Alex Moseman, Amanda Schmitt, and Mike Young (also former MDLF Executive Director) jumped into action to help us boldly accelerate this concept. Thanks to their partnership, over the last three years we’ve:

• Met with and received rousing bi-partisan support for this idea from politicians across the state.

• Received a million dollar grant from the CenterPoint Energy Foundation to roll out the program to every kid in four large counties—Vanderburg, Vigo, Madison, and Monroe. 

• Did a statewide press tour to advocate for the program.

• Most importantly—registered 8,000 new kids for the program. That’s 8,000 kids who are getting a brand new book in their hands each month and have the chance to fall more in love with reading. 

And while this is a great start, there’s so much more to be done. There are pockets of this program in place across the state, with nearly 60,000 kids receiving books monthly. But to ensure that every Hoosier child in Indiana grows up with books in their home, it will take statewide investment. In July, at the National Governors Association summer meeting, a panel of governors and Dolly herself shared the measurable impact this program is having on states from Ohio to Arkansas to Maine. And the number of states considering legislation to support this program continues to grow. (Dear legislators, let’s make Indiana one of them!)

So while our dream of getting books to every Hoosier child is still in progress, I believe we’re doing both Dolly and Mitch proud by aiming high and swinging for the fences on the change we want to see in our state. Earlier investment in literacy won’t just tug at our heartstrings—we can see meaningful impact on third-grade reading tests, which in turn leads to improved graduation rates and increased workforce readiness. In short? Early literacy can have a real economic impact on our state. 

Final Thoughts

Some readers may remember the classic children’s book The Little Engine That Could. The titular character is an unlikely hero, and pulls the stranded train over the mountain while chanting, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.” As he celebrates his success at the end of the book, that mantra shifts to “I thought I could, I thought I could, I thought I could.”

That’s my hope for kids across Indiana. That through intentionality, investment, and a little help from Dolly Parton—more and more of our youngest Hoosiers will gain the competence and confidence to switch from “I think I can” to “I thought I could.”

And that’s what MDLF did for me too. The fellowship experience gave our team the support to turn a pie-in-the-sky idea into a books-in-the-hands-of-kids reality. I’m grateful for how the MDLF community has rallied around this idea over the last three years, proud of the progress we’ve made to date, and excited to see where we’ll take our state next. 

P.S. If you’re interested in learning more about Hoosiers Read / Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, please visit www.imaginationlibrary.org, or email me at ben@hoosiersread.org.