Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library: Hagan Homes donates £150k to free book scheme

The business, which has donated more than £2m to various charities in the last five years, has chosen to invest even more in the Imagination Library over its next three-year partnership.

It hopes this move will encourage other local businesses and individuals to do the same, no matter how large or small the donation, to benefit all young children in Northern Ireland and leave an invaluable legacy of literacy.

With Hagan Homes’ new commitment of £150,000, even more children in Belfast are set to benefit from the Imagination Library which posts age-appropriate books to children, aged from nought to five years old, connected to nine Sure Start Centres across Belfast.

The benefits of this programme include boosting children’s literacy skills and advancing their communication ability, as well as helping build stronger family bonds.

Since Hagan Homes first supported Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in 2020, it has been behind the delivery of some 34,808 books to almost 2,000 children in Belfast.

With the company’s new commitment, it is envisaged that over 70,000 books will be delivered in total to approximately 2,000 children in Belfast over the next three years.

The Imagination Library, which began in Sevier County, Tennessee was set up by US country music star Dolly Parton in 1995, and was brought to the UK in 2007.

The Dollywood Foundation provides the infrastructure behind the programme, but it is made accessible to children in different locations through partnerships with what the charity calls ‘local champions’. Champions can be businesses, education authorities, small or large organisations, or simply individuals who share in the mission and purpose of the Imagination Library.

In Belfast, Hagan Homes took on that role in 2020 in partnership with nine Sure Start centres.

Five years prior to that, former Cliftonville Integrated Primary School Principal Brenda McMullan set up the first Imagination Library in Northern Ireland before she retired. She is now a member of the organisation’s UK book selection committee.

Chair and Founder of Hagan Homes, James Hagan, said: “When we first started working with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in 2020, we were aware of Brenda’s hard work at Cliftonville, and we wanted to support what she started by boosting the number of children who could benefit from the programme in the city.

“The feedback since from the parents and children who are benefitting from the books in the Belfast area has been overwhelming and it is a clear indicator that reading at an early age is about so much more than words and pictures on paper.

"Reading during the early years at home nurtures family relationships, boosts communication and sets a sturdy foundation for learning in the coming years.

“We would recommend other individuals and businesses sign up for the programme to help support the young children in their local areas. It’s a worthwhile and rewarding scheme that sets our future generations up for years.”