From The Desk Of The Creative Director - July 2026
A few weeks ago, while putting together materials for our upcoming fundraiser, I found myself thinking about the excitement of receiving mail as a child. Most mail is thrilling when you're little. A birthday card. A magazine. A postcard from somewhere far away. For nearly 400 Mercer County children enrolled in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, that excitement arrives each month, in the form of one free, brand new, age appropriate book in a mailbox. What could be better than that?
The truth is, those books represent more than just a fun trip to the mailbox. They become bedtime stories, opportunities for learning, and important moments of connection between children and the adults who love them. They help build vocabulary, spark imagination, and foster a lifelong love of reading.
That's why, this summer, Mercer County Better Together is partnering with libraries throughout the county for our first-ever "Reading Is a Gift" readathon. It’s a county-wide effort that celebrates reading while helping ensure those books continue arriving in mailboxes across Mercer County.
At any given time, around 400 Mercer County kids are enrolled in the program. Each month, they receive a brand-new, age-appropriate book in the mail, addressed to them, at no cost to their families. While the books themselves are important, what they represent is even more meaningful: opportunities to learn, grow, imagine, and connect.
Beginning this July 1-13, readers of all ages will be invited to sign up on GiveButter (and join your local library’s team), collect pledges and track the pages they read throughout the event, which officially runs from July 13-27. Friends and family can support participants through flat donations or per-page pledges, with all proceeds helping ensure that children ages 0-5 throughout Mercer County continue receiving books through this wonderful program.
What I anticipate most about this effort isn't just the fundraising goal, though sponsoring all 400 enrolled children would certainly be an incredible accomplishment. It's the opportunity to partner with libraries throughout the county and create something that truly belongs to the entire community, that really inspires me.
Libraries have always been places where people come together to learn, explore, and discover. It feels fitting that they would play such an important role in a campaign centered around the power of books and reading. Thanks to their partnership, families from communities across Mercer County will have an opportunity to participate, support one another, and help make a lasting impact on local children.
Whether you choose to sign up as a reader, sponsor a participant, make a donation, or simply help spread the word, I hope you'll consider joining us. Together, we can help ensure that every child enrolled in the program continues receiving the gift of books, and all of the possibilities that come with them.
Because reading truly is a gift. And it's one worth sharing.
