Dolly Parton is world famous for a long list of reasons, but her illustrious musical career will be the very first thing mentioned in her obituary. But for newer parents, her “Books From Birth” program might also rank really high.
It’s described as the flagship program of her charitable foundation, and is the largest book-gifting program there is. Earlier this month in Prince George’s County, the one-millionth book was sent to a child enrolled in the program.
“It’s very significant,” said Megan Sutherland, the chief operating officer of the Prince George’s County Memorial Library system. “Between our current enrollment and those who have graduated out of the program, we have reached 35,000 children ages zero to five in our county.”
Every child enrolled in the program gets a free book mailed directly to their home every month until they turn five years old.
Signing up is easy, too. Parents can do it if their child is born at either MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center in Clinton, or the University of Maryland Medical System Capital Region Medical Center in Largo.
But even if you give birth elsewhere, you can still sign up online in a matter of moments. The benefits, beyond just the free book, begin immediately.
“We’ve gotten a lot of wonderful feedback from our families who have participated in the program,” Sutherland said. “They have really built literacy into their daily routine, so they are reading to their children at bedtime or at other points throughout the day. That daily routine then has followed children as they have aged.”
“Feedback from our families has included newborns that are tracking their parents eyes. When they’re just a couple months old, they’re learning how to turn the pages,” Sutherland added. “These are all foundational elements of literacy, and that they progress with the child as they go through the program.”
The program has continued to grow in the county. In 2023, close to 173,000 books were mailed directly to kids.
This year, that number is approaching 192,000. That comes out to about 1,800 more families that signed up for the program, compared to a year ago.
“This is really such an important tool for building lifelong literacy,” Sutherland said. “It’s literally delivering joy into their child’s hands every month, and it really makes it easy for families.”
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