Our Impact

We aim to empower 40,000 Australian children over five years, promoting reading, learning, and success. Through collaboration and community unity, we advocate for systemic change in child and youth outcomes. We sincerely appreciate the support from diverse sectors, including government, business, philanthropy, and nonprofits. Together, we amplify our impact.

Impact of the Imagination Library

Many Australian children face developmental vulnerability at the start of school, lacking essential literacy skills. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library empowers these children, recognising the importance of the first 2,000 days for brain development. By providing a book each month, we enable children to explore, learn, and transform their futures, significantly impacting their trajectory before school.

The Imagination Library operates across many LGA’s and regions of Australia. The program has been running in the Tamworth region of NSW since January 1, 2019 and as at mid-2023 almost 3,200 children had been enrolled. Claire Galea, Statistician and Senior Impact Analyst at United Way Australia and PhD student at Macquarie University began collecting data when the program started in Tamworth. Results from her PhD research have recently been published in The Journal of Research in Childhood Education published by Taylor and Francis and found participation in the Imagination Library showed positive impact in the areas of the Home Literacy Environment, Reading attitudes and Interaction, Equality and Socilisation, and Emerging Literacy Skills.