Under-fives across Greenwich will be able to get a free book every month after the borough joined Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
The project is backed by the People’s Postcode Lottery, which has funded the £5m expansion into seven London boroughs.
Parton, who died in August, founded the scheme in her home state of Tennessee in 1995, believing that every child should have books of their own. Each child whose family signs up is sent a free, specially selected, age-appropriate book each month until their fifth birthday.
When the expansion was announced in September, Jeff Conyers, president of The Dollywood Foundation said: “Dolly believed passionately that every child deserved the chance to fall in love with books, and she spent her life turning that belief into something real.
“This expansion means her extraordinary work does not simply continue, it grows.
“There could be no more fitting way to honour Dolly than to keep doing what she asked us to do: put books into children’s hands, open them together and make time for a story.
“It’s a small act, but very much in Dolly’s spirit – turning love and generosity into something that can change a child’s life.”
Sandra Bauer, Greenwich’s cabinet member for children and young people, said: “We’re proud to join this fantastic initiative and make free books available to young children across the borough. This programme will help ensure that more families can enjoy the benefits of reading together at home, while helping children develop a lifelong love of books and learning before they even start school.”
Children in Lewisham are also able to benefit from the scheme as part of the expansion. Wandsworth, Camden, Hackney, Newham and Barking & Dagenham have also joined the scheme, while Southwark, Lambeth and the City of London were already part of it.
Up to 150,000 children could benefit from the scheme in the capital, with two million books delivered each year.
Families in Greenwich can register for the scheme on a dedicated page on the Imagination Library website, as can those in Lewisham.
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