At the regular Board of Education meeting in August, Caroline County Public Schools (CCPS) presented Caroline County Public Library with a donation of $20,000 for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Program which provides a free, age-appropriate book to any child in the county from birth to age five.
This is the sixth year CCPS staff has taken on the Imagination Library fundraising endeavor. The central office and schools individually decide which fundraising activities will work for them. One of the most popular fundraisers is a ‘jeans day’ for staff members who have made a specific monetary donation. Donations are also generously provided by vendors doing business with CCPS, some local and some in other parts of the country.
In 2021, CCPS began a new tradition of making a $50.00 contribution to Imagination Library as an employee retirement gift. This past spring, donations were made on behalf of 30 newly retired people.
Caroline County Public Library Executive Director Debby Bennett was on hand to accept the donation from Superintendent Derek L. Simmons and the Board. “You and your staff are our biggest supporters, along with the Caroline County Commissioners,” Ms. Bennett stated. “Every year, you come through for us. Who knows better than you all the importance of reading in early childhood?”
Dr. Simmons thanked Ms. Bennett for the library’s work with Imagination Library, stating that the program would not be possible without them.