CARIBOU, Maine — The United Way of Aroostook kicked off their fund-raising campaign on Thursday at the S.W. Collins Co. in Caribou. As part of the campaign, the UWA has teamed up with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in order to provide free books to young children to give them a head start on education and to further their efforts in early childhood development.
The UWA launched this initiative, alongside Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, on Oct. 1, and according to UWA’s Executive Director Claudia Stevens, their goal is simple, to foster the love of reading and benefit children through the learning of language skills and comprehension prior to their enrollment in traditional education.
Stevens added that the books provided from the library are free, but as they are shipped from Pennsylvania, UWA must pay for the books to be mailed directly to a child’s home. In an effort to raise funds for the project, UWA has reached out to local service organizations throughout Aroostook County. The Caribou Rotary Club was one of the first organizations from the area to commit to helping fund the project. Caribou Rotary President Mike Quinlan attended the event on Thursday, where he presented UWA with a check for $2,000.
“We made a presentation to the Caribou Rotary Club to explain to them what it is we are hoping to do,” said Stevens. “They came back to us with a commitment and a check for $2,000.”
Stevens explained that the Rotary and Kiwanis clubs of Presque Isle have also made commitments to donate to the project, with the Rotary donating $2,000 and the Kiwanis committing to donate $1,000 per year for the next five years.
“This is an ongoing effort that we figure will cost about $55,000 per year to maintain,” said Stevens. “We’re pleased with the donations we’ve received so far and we will continue to make presentations to local service organizations in an attempt to keep raising additional funds.”
According to Stevens, the project is off to a booming start and is growing at a more dramatic rate than anyone could have imagined.
“We estimate that there are approximately 2,500 children that we could help by supplying them with books,” said Stevens. “Right now, we have over 1,300 children already enrolled in the project and that number is increasing at a dramatic pace.”
The money donated by organizations like the Caribou Rotary Club will go toward the shipping cost for books being sent to children in the greater Caribou area, including towns like Connor, Woodland and New Sweden.
During an interview on Tuesday, Caribou Rotary President Quinlan, spoke about the decision made by the club to donate to the project, and explained why he felt it was important for local service organizations like the Rotary to become involved.
“United Way of Aroostook has long been a steward of charitable funds. The Caribou Rotary learned that The United Way was going to take the lead in our area for the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. We were also informed that there were 270 children in our immediate area who would qualify for this program,” said Quinlan. “The impact this opportunity provides for this large number of kids was the main reason we felt it important to be involved and assist with the funding. One main criteria that we look at when considering funding requests is if the project or program will directly impact the citizens of Caribou. This program clearly meets that criteria.”
