The Stephanie Miller-Davis Memorial Fund was established to remember Stephanie while continuing her investment in children. This fund supports early childhood literacy in South Dakota with a focus on rural communities. The fund supports communities that are willing to establish a Dolly Parton Imagination Library for their children. The fund will pay for 100% for four years and 50% in year five.
The Marcus P. Beebe Memorial Library applied for the Stephanie Miller-Davis grant for their summer reading program in 2019. At the end of the application was a question, "Are you interested in getting the Dolly Parton Imagination Library (DPIL) in your community?" They responded yes and found out there was a lot of interest from their community. Members of the library board soon contacted Laura Kelly, Children & Youth Services Coordinator for SDSL and asked, "How do we get started receiving assistance from the Stephanie Miller-Davis Fund to help pay the postage of books and other expenses?"
Library Board President, Deb Gillick went to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library website and found the Ipswich area contact. Deb reached out to DPIL and shortly after the conversation, the library received startup information. COVID-19 slowed down response times, but the library didn't give up hope and continued their efforts to designate all of Edmunds County as the service area for this program.
The Marcus P. Beebe Memorial Library could not have an open summer reading program as planned where they were going to launch the DPIL. Instead they mailed registration forms to families with new babies in the county and posted information on Facebook. In the end, their first book order was for 62 children!
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| Annie reading the first Dolly Parton Imagination Library book to son, Dax. Photos provided by Deb Gillick, Marcus P Beebe Memorial Library |
Gillick stated, "Without the incentive of the Stephanie Miller-Davis Foundation, our library could not have started this program. It is not a quick process, COVID-19 slowed us down, but I am glad the library kept going. We have made so many Edmunds County families very happy and getting a book in hands of children is a great reward."
"We are honored to support the heroic work of librarians and other community members to provide a new book to a child each month through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library." -- Davis Family
Need more details or have any questions? Contact Deb Gillick by email edgillick@valleytel.net.