The Gainesboro Board of Mayor and Aldermen discussed renewing a $1,000 annual grant for the Jackson County chapter of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
Imagination Library Board Member John Deane said the organization is seeking a renewal of the funding after the previous three-year grant agreement concluded. Deane said the local chapter has seen significant growth in recent years, increasing the enrollment of eligible children from 56 percent to 81 percent.
“We ranked 86th out of 95 counties in terms of child enrollment,” Deane said. “Today, we rank 28th out of 95 counties in enrollment.”
Deane said the program currently serves 493 children out of an eligible population of 545 in the county. Since the program began, Deane said the organization has delivered in total 78,435 books to local children, including more than 6,500 books in 2025 alone.
“That is children between the ages of birth and five receive a free book mailed to their home with their name on it, and then when they’re five, we cut them off,” Deane said. “They go online and fill out their parent fills out a form, and then our board is attending festivals and we’ve got clipboards and any time we see a stroller, we attack the parent.”
Board member Faith Henshaw said the organization has expanded its efforts beyond mailing books to include community literacy engagement. Henshaw said the group has hosted six free movie nights and established two storybook trails at Periwinkle and Roaring River.
“So as you do those walking trails, you can read a book with your child,” Henshaw said. “It was a partnership with the the Corps of Engineers, we got a grant from them, we got a grant from the Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation, and we got a grant from the Friends of Cordell Hull Lake, a nonprofit that formed about three years ago.”
Henshaw said the cost to provide the books is approximately $24 per child each year. Henshaw said while the State of Tennessee covers half the cost of the books, the local chapter is responsible for the remaining balance, which has increased as enrollment has doubled.
“She provides the books,” Henshaw said. “The State of Tennessee provides half the books and then we provide the balance.”