Foundational Literacy

With some help from a local group, Dolly Parton is expanding her empire of good works into Georgia.

The country legend’s Imagination Library is now working with Foundational Literacy, a nonprofit based in Cleveland, in the Northeast Georgia mountains, to get books into the hands of Appalachian children.

Countless studies show the impact of regular reading on cognition, focus, memory and behavior. Children who read for at least 20 minutes a day tend to perform better on tests than 90% of their classmates.

“We think of it as sort of a book ministry,” says Vicki Aiken, a former teacher who launched Foundational Literacy with her husband, John Aiken, in September 2022. “Our mission is to provide the tools, encouragement and opportunities to develop a lifelong excitement and love of reading among students in White County.”

Since then, they have enrolled more than 700 young readers in the program and distributed more than 6,500 books. “Our goal is to get at least 1,300 kids from the ages of 0 to 5 enrolled. The earlier they start reading, especially if they start before third grade, the greater the benefit,” she says.

For fundraising, the organization partners with local entities such as Cowboys & Angels restaurant, United Community Bank, Chick-fil-A, Piedmont Bank, the Rotary Club of Helen and the Sautee Nacoochee Cultural Center.

Parents can enroll their kids online to receive one free, age-appropriate book each month, and no child is turned away. “So far, we’ve operated by word of mouth,” Aiken says. “The children get so excited, they tell their friends. Reading becomes fun to them.”