This month (January 2008) Lumpkin County’s Literacy Coalition, sponsor of the nationally acclaimed Dolly Parton's Imagination Library funded in part by the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy, enrolled their 500th child. Each receives monthly an age appropriate book in the fight against illiteracy, announced Diane Stephenson, Executive Director of LCLC. “This landmark represents over 35% of the estimated 1,400 children under the age of five in Lumpkin County. We started just a year and a half ago with some volunteers to support the program Dolly started in Tennessee. That is an amazing accomplishment in such a short time!” she said. ”Our next goal is to reach 50%.”

The Dolly Parton's Imagination Library funded in part by the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy is a national organization supporting children from birth to age five with books mailed to every registered child at no cost to the family. “Our cost to participate is only $48 per year per child. The money is generated by contributions from people who live in the county and business owners who believe in the cause”, said Litton deJarnette, volunteer manager of the local Dolly Parton's Imagination Library funded in part by the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy project. The Literacy Coalition recognizes that in an increasingly complex technological world, more educated workers are required. Reading is a critical skill for young adults and others in the job force if they wish to earn competitive wages. In Lumpkin County it is estimated that close to one in three (7,400 people) have below high school reading levels.

The Dictionary Project is a volunteer effort which provides new dictionaries to students in Lumpkin County’s 3rd grade.  

A special grant from the Mohawk Foundation this year helped fund our Dictionary Project. Each year LCLC gives a personal dictionary to every third grader in the county. You might ask why—don’t they have spell check? Three quick answers: (1) not all third graders have an accessible computer at home,  (2) think how much more information you can find, and (3) it’s your very own.

Spearheaded by Jody Essert, this year we delivered more than 300 dictionaries to students all elementary schools in Lumpkin County. “We have a duty and responsibility to give our children every tool we can provide them the opportunity to compete in a world becoming more competitive everyday. Without our team and Mohawk Industries who works so hard on this project, we would be short changing our future for our kids and the future of Lumpkin County,” said Essert.