Nicholas and Christen Thompson Foundation

Approximately half of school aged children in Palm Beach County currently read below grade level. Educational research is nearly unanimous that early access to books and being read to at home, including during the first weeks and months of life, is a strong indicator of future success in reading. Unfortunately, most of the reading interventions that take place now, are during the school years, which begin at age five.

The Nicholas and Christen Thompson Foundation, a Florida nonprofit corporation, is partnering with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, to bring books to children ages 0-5 in our community, at no cost to the family. The Imagination Library is a book gifting program that has given over one million books to children worldwide since its inception in 1995. The Imagination Library provides the administrative costs and infrastructure, including the book selection committee which is done by educators and experts, and mails one book per month to each enrollee, addressed to the child. The local 501(3)(c) partner is responsible for enrolling local children, promoting the program, and obtaining the necessary funding.