General Secretary and CEO of Rotary International John Hewko visited
backstage with country music legend Dolly Parton during her 28 July
concert stop in the Chicago area. The meeting further strengthened ties
between RI and Parton’s Dollywood Foundation to promote reading and
literacy. (click below to read more)
“We reaffirmed Rotary’s commitment to working with Dolly’s
foundation on literacy,” says Hewko. “Both of our organizations have put
basic education and literacy front and center and have worked together
on that goal.”
In 2009, RI announced a collaborative arrangement with the Dollywood Foundation’s Imagination Library program. Since then, hundreds of Rotary clubs in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom have initiated literacy projects.
Parton was also a speaker at the 2010 RI Convention in Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Rotary clubs are encouraged to support the Imagination Library
program, in which children from birth until age five receive
age-appropriate books each month, so that parents and other family
members can begin reading to them as soon as possible.
“Collaborating with the Imagination Library is a great way for
Rotary clubs in these countries to contribute to literacy -- one of
Rotary’s six areas of focus -- in a very direct and effective way,”
Hewko says.
Hewko added that it’s an ideal time for clubs to get started on
Imagination Library projects, with International Literacy Day 8
September.
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