First Leverage Fund Award provides local match to expand early literacy opportunities for children across Allegany County
By Alyssa Bump, ACAF
Thousands of young children across Allegany County will continue receiving free books in their mailboxes each month thanks to a new $35,000 grant awarded to Ardent Solutions through the Allegany County Area Foundation’s (ACAF) first Leverage Fund Grant Award.
The funding, made possible through the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation (RCWJF), will provide the required local match for a New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) grant, ensuring the Dolly Parton Imagination Library Program remains available to local families.
“One of the valuable roles a community foundation can play is helping local organizations take advantage of opportunities when they arise,” ACAF Executive Director Bruce Campbell said. “Having flexible funds gives us the ability to respond to needs like this one, where a local investment can help bring additional resources into Allegany County and sustain an important program.”
Because the grant serves as the required local match, it unlocks additional state funding that allows Ardent Solutions to continue administering the Dolly Parton Imagination Library (DPIL) throughout Allegany County.
Ardent Solutions, a Wellsville-based rural health and community non-profit, has coordinated the Dolly Parton Imagination Library locally since 2021.
“Literacy is always one of the top concerns in rural areas,” Ardent Solution’s Early Childhood Development Coordinator Kate Miller said. “With the help of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, [Ardent Solutions] launched the DPIL [in 2021] to start providing books for kids aged zero to five in Allegany County.”
Ardent Solutions oversees enrollment, outreach, and program administration for families across the county who are enrolled in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
Dolly Parton founded the Imagination Library in 1995 to help children develop early literacy and a lifelong love of reading. Today, the program provides free, age-appropriate books every month to children from birth through age five across the world.
Each book becomes a permanent part of the child’s home library, helping families build literacy long before children enter kindergarten. Research consistently shows that the first five years of life are critical for brain development. Regular access to books and shared reading experiences during this period can strengthen language development and school readiness.
“The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is so important in an area like ours because transportation is a barrier, education is a barrier, and finances are a barrier,” Miller said. “And those three things we can overcome with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. We can get books in the hands of children without them having to go anywhere — all they have to do is register, and we handle the rest.”
A 2025 study by Dr. Claire Galea found that children enrolled in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library were eleven times more likely to be interested in books compared to children not in the program. With this, participants were four times more likely to demonstrate foundational literacy skills such as vocabulary and phonological awareness.
The Imagination Library’s impact is already evident across Allegany County.
In 2025 alone, Ardent Solutions enrolled 1,578 children — representing 65 percent of all eligible children in the county — and mailed 14,967 books to families across every Allegany County ZIP code.
“For the importance of early literacy, the fact that we are able to get books into kid’s hands wherever they are in Allegany County is such a monumental achievement for this county,” Miller said. “Literacy is such an important skill that we are able to help provide.”
Ardent Solutions provides supplemental learning materials to families enrolled in the DPIL through monthly email newsletters. Each newsletter includes read-along videos and activities tied directly to the child’s latest DPIL book, giving families more ways to engage with the story and extend learning beyond the page.
“We could not continue this program without a matching fund,” Miller said. “The DPIL is the most expensive program we have here, but it’s worth every penny. Early literacy skills are the most important building blocks for everything that these children will do for the rest of their lives.”
To register your child for Ardent Solution’s Imagination Library Program, visit ardentnetwork.org. There are no income requirements or financial qualifications to join. The books are free to all registered families residing in Allegany County, New York ZIP codes.
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