Imagination Library returns to centre. Now the push is on for donations to reach more children

A free children’s book program that filled to capacity in just weeks the last time it ran is being rolled out again in Nambour. Local volunteers are calling on the community for donations to help re-open enrolments to more local families.

Volunteers from Nambour Community Centre are relaunching the local fundraising push for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a globally recognised program that delivers a free, age-appropriate book to enrolled children every month, posted directly to their home.

The program was launched in Nambour in March 2025 and quickly reached its initial limit of fifty children (aged 0-3 years) within three weeks. Each enrolled child will receive a new book every month for two years, at no cost to their family.

Grace Lynam and Manda Boyd, volunteer coordinators with the Nambour Community Centre, said the response confirmed both the demand for the program and the importance of early literacy. 

“Literacy is more than just learning words — it opens doors to imagination, confidence, family bonding and improved developmental outcomes for our kids,” they said.

Each book delivered through the Imagination Library includes an expert-designed tip sheet to help parents support emerging literacy skills at home, making quality books accessible even to the most vulnerable families.

‘We now have an incredible opportunity to help close that gap’

The volunteers said the program was particularly relevant in Nambour, where recent data shows higher-than-average developmental vulnerability. 

“We discovered that approximately one in three children in Nambour are now entering school with at least one developmental vulnerability, compared with almost one in five children nationwide,” they said, citing the Australian Early Development Census 2024.

“With every book placed in a child’s hands, we are taking a step towards a brighter future for our local community,” they said. 

“Together with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, we now have an incredible opportunity to help close that gap.”

The next goal is to raise the funds to support an additional fifty children in 2026, with organisers seeking community donations to make that possible.

To make a donation to the program, contact Nambour Community Centre’s Imagination Library volunteers via dpil@nambourcc.org or phone (07) 5441 4724.