The Greenport Rotary continued its effort to promote reading for the hamlet’s youngest residents, donating $1,000 to Floyd Memorial Library on Tuesday for its participation in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program. 

“This nice check that they gave us means that we could keep doing this,” library Director Ellen Nasto said. “This was just another thing that we could get involved in, and anything that puts books in the hands of kids, to me, is good.”

There are currently about 70 kids enrolled through the library, and the donation will help cover postage costs to keep sending them books.

To celebrate the donation and continue the program’s reach, children packed the downstairs room of the library for a special book reading and arts and crafts. Author Nina Ross read the newest installment in her Montauk Mike series of children’s books.

She also led an art project with the children, having them create a little drum set from the book.

Floyd Memorial Library joined Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library three years ago. The Rotary also donated $1,000 last year, and the hope is it becomes an annual gift. The Cutchogue New Suffolk Free Library also joined the program in 2023.

The global program sends a free book each month to more than 3 million children through age 5. The Dollywood Foundation, Ms. Parton’s 35-year-old nonprofit based in Sevierville, Tenn., covers the program’s administrative and overhead costs, while local partners, including public libraries, raise money to pay for books and postage. 

Ms. Parton launched the Imagination Library in 1995 as a tribute to her father, who was unable to read.

“This is one of the pet projects for our Rotary of Greenport,” member Tom Byrne said. “The program has developed and grown. It’s our initiative.”

Mr. Byrne’s wife, Veronica Kaliski, was the driving force behind bringing the program to the library. She is a member of the Friends of Floyd Memorial Library.

“It’s a completely win-win situation,” Ms. Kaliski said. “You get them in the mail once a month, and they’re very good books.”

The post Greenport Rotary donates $1K to support young readers at Floyd Memorial Library appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

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