Summary: Provides age-appropriate books mailed monthly to children ages 0-5
Overview: The Imagination Library of the Prescott Area (ILPA) is the implementation of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program within Yavapai County, Arizona serving the City of Prescott and other areas of the county not currently served by the Imagination Library (IL). This joint club district grant application in support of that program is being submitted by the Rotary Clubs of 1. Prescott, 2. Prescott-Frontier and 3. Prescott-Sunup. This program was previously known as the Prescott Area Imagination Library (PAIL) and was administered with the assistance of the Friends of the Prescott Library and only available to children in the City of Prescott. Since establishing itself this past year as a separate and independent not-for-profit 501-C-3 charity corporation, it has adopted the ILPA name and is now expanding to other parts of Yavapai County.
ILPA provides age-appropriate books mailed monthly to children aged 0-5 that have been enrolled by their parents. This is essentially a "Book of the Month Club" for this age group. 2022-2023 will be the fourth year that a Rotary District 5495 district grant has supported this program along with matching funds from the three Prescott Rotary Clubs and other funding sources.
Needs: The underlying need addressed by this program is the improvement of general literacy and communication skills of young children. By engaging in this program, young children, ages 0-5, will improve their readiness for formal schooling. The program prescribes expectations on the part of parents and caregivers in presenting and interacting with children as they together engage in reading and discussing the books. Parents talking and reading with their infants, toddlers, and preschoolers every day is critical for healthy brain development and long-term learning.
Timeline: This ongoing program is entering its fourth year of operation and support by the three Prescott Rotary clubs.
Funding: During its initial three years through June 2022, the major funding source for this program has been through D-5495 district grants and club matching funds. Funding was also received from the Arizona/Yavapai County Community Foundation. Private donations have also been accepted. To expand the program to all Yavapai County areas not already served by the Imagination Library, it is anticipated that one or more of the local Rotary clubs will fund ILPA beyond the matching funds required for the district grant. And, in collaboration with the ILPA Board of Directors, seek additional funds necessary for continuous support of the Program.
Children receive books when they are registered online with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program (>imaginationlibrary.com<) either by their parents or an ILPA volunteer. In Yavapai County, ILPA currently serves about 750 children per month at a cost of approximately $2 per book or $1500 monthly. This expense includes both costs of shipping and for the book itself. The number of books distributed varied throughout the current year between 686 books in July of 2021 and 780 books in November of 2021. Each month new children are added to our distribution list, while others reach age five and "graduate" from the program. Expanding ILPA beyond the City of Prescott to most of Yavapai County is anticipated to double the number of monthly books distributed sometime during the 2022-2023 fiscal year costing about $3000 per month. This will require the ILPA board and the Rotary clubs to secure additional funding beyond Rotary District 5495 district grants.
Rotarian Involvement: The ILPA Board of Directors includes representatives from all three grant-applicant Rotary clubs. These individuals, as well as other members at-large from the three Rotary clubs will be asked to serve in several capacities in support of ILPA. These will include activities such as fundraising events, recruitment of families/children for participation in the Imagination Library program, assisting with online registration, promotional and marketing activities, and funding solicitation of individual, business, and corporate support.
Completed
This project is "Completed". This means the project has been implemented and the report was accepted by the district leadership. The project will stay listed on this website as a testimony of the achievements of the project partners.
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History Log Entries
30-May-22
by Rebecca Wilks
Thank you for your application. We'll need the MOU from the Sunup club. Also, since tomorrow is the deadline, please be sure that all three club president-elects are listed on the distribution list. I'll send the grant for signatures as soon as the last MOU is in.
30-May-22
by Noel J DeSousa
System Entry: Creation of project page.
30-May-22
by Noel J DeSousa
System Entry: Pledge of $1,000 with $2,000 DDF by Noel J DeSousa of the Rotary Club of Prescott-Frontier, District 5495.
30-May-22
by Noel J DeSousa
System Entry: Pledge of $1,000 with $2,000 DDF by AJ Sheridan of the Rotary Club of Prescott-Sunup, District 5495.
30-May-22
by Noel J DeSousa
System Entry: Pledge of $1,000 with $2,000 DDF by Candace Tomlinson of the Rotary Club of Prescott, District 5495.
1-Jun-22
by Rebecca Wilks
System Entry: Project sent for club signatures.
1-Jun-22
System Entry
System Entry: Project signed by Rebecca Wilks.
1-Jun-22
by Noel J DeSousa
System Entry: Project signed by Noel J DeSousa.
1-Jun-22
System Entry
System Entry: Project signed by Lori Dekker.
1-Jun-22
System Entry
System Entry: Project signed by Laura Vanderberg.
3-Jun-22
System Entry
System Entry: Project signed by Joe Sweeney.
4-Aug-22
by Rebecca Wilks
Congratulations! The Rotary Foundation has approved our block grant, which means we'll have the funds soon.
As you know, you must wait until this point to spend any grant funds. Your final report, which is due April 30, must include
receipts for the entire budget of your grant (gather them as you go along, please) dated August 4 or later. The report form is
available in the Foundation section of rotary5495.org. Please be sure your bank information is up-to-date so there is no delay
in sending the funds by electronic transfer. This information, as well as questions about when you'll receive the money, should
be addressed to our District Treasurer, Lucinda General at treasurer@rotary5495.org
4-Aug-22
by Rebecca Wilks
System Entry: Project approved by the District Approval Committee.
17-Aug-22
by Rebecca Wilks
System Entry: Check for DDF payment issued by Foundation Treasurer.
16-Apr-23
by Rebecca Wilks
A friendly reminder: The report for this grant either has not been submitted or is incomplete. The deadline for reporting is April 30. Late reports can jeopardize your club’s future grants and delay receipt of next year’s funding for all clubs in the district. The report form can be found here:
The completed, SIGNED form, along with all project RECEIPTS, must be uploaded in PDF format to the project website in order to close the project.
Thanks.
25-Apr-23
by Noel J DeSousa
Documents supporting the final report for this distrct grant have been uploaded. The Final Report itself will be uploaded after final proofing and once the president of the RC Prescott-Frontier affixes her signature and the Report is converted to PDF format.
27-Apr-23
by Noel J DeSousa
The Imgaination Library of the Prescott Area Final Report for 2022-2023 has been uploaded and can be viewed at >matchinggrants.com< grant #4324.
28-Apr-23
by Rebecca Wilks
System Entry: Project has been implemented and final report uploaded.
28-Apr-23
by Rebecca Wilks
System Entry: Final report approved by the District Approval Committee.
