Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has come to Canon Peter Hall Church of England Primary School (CPH), a member of Lincoln Anglican Academy Trust in Immingham, thanks to a former pupil and Rolf Sperr of The Rotary Club of Cleethorpes, who worked as a local partner to set up the book gifting programme for the school. An international literacy initiative by the famous country singer, the Imagination Library is devoted to inspiring a love of reading in the hearts of children everywhere.
When Christine died, her sister Marion Hill wanted to honour her sister’s memory in some way. As they had both attended CPH as children and Christine loved reading, Marion thought that bringing the Imagination Library to the school would be the perfect way to do this. Under the programme, every child in CPH Nursery and Reception will receive an age appropriate book every month, completely free of charge, until they are five years old. Going forward, children in the eligible age group who start at CPH will also have the opportunity to enrol in the Library. Books are carefully selected, and full of variety. They include traditional stories and rhymes, books by beloved authors and illustrators, non-fiction content, and newly published titles.
Following the successful launch of the Imagination Library at CPH, Marion Hill commented: “I know how proud my sister would have been as reading was such a joy to her, and also knowing how important reading is for children’s education. We owe a big thank you to Rolf Sperr and The Rotary Club of Cleethorpes for their support and to Head of School, Tracey Grove, who worked so hard to make the Imagination Library a reality for the children.”
As part of its commitment to serving communities, The Rotary Club of Cleethorpes has undertaken to help raise the level of child literacy in the Grimsby and Cleethorpes area. Having identified the Dolly Parton Imagination Library as an effective way of helping to achieve this goal, the Club became an affiliate partner for the programme and raises funds to enable as many children as possible from the age of 0 to 5 to receive a free book through the post every month.
Tracey Grove thanked Marion on behalf of the school and expressed her gratitude to Rolf Sperr for organising everything. “The Imagination Library will make a real difference to the lives of many local families,” said Tracey. “I can’t believe it has all happened so quickly and the children already have their first book.”
Since it was launched in the UK back in 2007, the Imagination Library now works with over 200 affiliate partners and delivers more than 40,000 books every month to children living in communities across the UK. Currently, Canon Peter Hall is the only school in Immingham to be part of this fantastic programme.
