United Way of Santa Barbara County Program Ensures Children Ages 0-5 Have Access to Books
The United Way of Santa Barbara County is raffling an exclusive V.I.P package to Dolly Parton’s Pure & Simple Tour. Courtesy photo.
SANTA BARBARA – In support of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, United Way of Santa Barbara County is raffling an exclusive V.I.P package to Dolly Parton’s Pure & Simple Tour happening on Sunday, Sept. 25 at the Santa Barbara Bowl. Only 200 raffle entries are available at $50 a piece (or two entries for $80) and need to be purchased by midnight on Monday, Sept. 15. The drawing will take place on September 16. Raffle tickets can be purchased online at www.unitedwaysb.org.
The V.I.P. packages are valued at $3,900 and include two premium tickets located in the first three rows, a personal photograph with Dolly Parton, an exclusive backstage museum tour, pre-show reception with complimentary drinks and appetizers, $125 voucher to Dolly Parton’s online store and much more. All of the proceeds will support United Way of Santa Barbara County’s Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which provides a child with one free expert-picked book every month from age 0 to 5.
“Thanks to this innovative program, more than 1,400 local families with children up to age five receive a new age-appropriate book in the mail every month at no charge. We know that reading to a pre-school child is the single most important way to prepare them for school,” said Steve Ortiz, Vice President of United Way Santa Barbara County. ”By placing books that have been selected by educational experts directly in the home, we are creating opportunities for parents and children to spend time together in an enriching way that will pay big dividends down the road.”
UWSBC partnered with the Dollywood Foundation in 2009 to provide the Dolly Parton Imagination Library (DPIL) to Santa Barbara County children and families as part of the United for Literacy initiative. Since then, over 60,000 books have been distributed. United For Literacy was developed to reach two community identified 10 year goals: Increase on-time graduation rates by 50% and increase the percentage of students reading at or above grade level in every grade by 50%.
About United Way of Santa Barbara County: United Way of Santa Barbara County (UWSBC) has the unique and positive vision that “in our community, everyone has a hopeful future.” Since 1923, UWSBC has served Santa Barbara County community through funding, volunteer development, and by utilizing its own unique initiatives that involve dozens of local non-profit and public sector agencies. UWSBC’s local community driven Power of Partnership™ priorities help children, families & seniors with a focus on Education, Income and Health.