Councillors are confident our young citizens of the future will benefit from a decision to establish an international literacy program – Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library – in the Tamworth Region.
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There was unanimous agreement at last week’s Council meeting that the program has the potential to improve literacy levels among young local children.
The initiative – administered by charity the United Way in Australia - is an exciting opportunity to improve literacy levels in young local children.
Dolly Parton started the Imagination Library to inspire a love of reading in children. Education experts acknowledge something as simple as reading to a child at a young age can dramatically improve their literacy skills.
Each month enrolled children up to the age of five receive an age-appropriate book at no cost to their families.
There will be more news in December about how local parents can subscribe to the program. The books will be gifted in January 2019.
Council is investing $20,000 to fund the program for the first six months of next year and will put together a plan to secure sponsorship to help fund it into the future.
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What a big weekend it’s been in Tamworth! No fewer than four key events were staged bringing thousands of people together.
There was the inaugural Tamworth Show at the Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre on Friday and Saturday, various Tamworth Cycling Festival events on Saturday and Sunday, The Tamworth Bicentenary walk on Sunday and the Kootingal Country Fair organised by the Kootingal Recreation Reserve Committee.
Both the show and the cycling festival drew a combination of local and out of town visitors which is great to see – especially in terms of the boost they bring to business in our city and even more so during this challenging drought.
A reminder Council’s Annual Donations Program remains open for applications until Friday 14 September. Under the program, local charities, non-profit organisations and community groups can seek a contribution from Council to help them cover general running costs. There is $61,000 to be shared across projects around the Region. To find out more about the program and how to apply for funding, see www.tamworth.nsw.gov.au/annualdonations.
Mayor Col Murray
