Funds Given for Pre-School Children's Book Project Marion County Literacy Council Director Betsey Short (at left) and South Shore Foundation Trustee Jodie Jeffrey review books for children available through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library project. A South Shore Foundation grant of $2,700 will pay for postage to distribute free children's books to eligible families with pre-school children in Marion County. For more information, contact Ms. Short at (870) 449-5459 or by e-mail at vista@southshore.com.

The Marion County Literacy Council has received partial funding of a major project, the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, through the South Shore Foundation. At a June meeting, South Shore Foundation trustees approved granting $2,700 to the county literacy council to cover postage to distribute free books to pre-school age children.

Betsey Short, director of the Marion County Literacy Council, said the council now has funds to finance the project for about 200 children in the county under the age of five, but they wish to reach many more. The Dolly Parton Imagination Library project, she explained, enables the literacy council to provide one free book a month to children who otherwise may not receive such a gift.

The project also promotes parent/child communications as parents read to their children. The literacy council has promoted the Imagination Library at public events in Marion County, through pre-schools, Head Starts, elementary schools, and has received higher enrollment than anticipated, Ms. Short said.

South Shore Foundation, the charitable arm of NATCO, makes grants to nonprofit
agencies serving the South Shore area. For more information or for a grant application, call 1-800-775-6682.