To celebrate Dolly Parton’s birthday on Jan. 19, Signal Centers is partnering with local businesses to throw a week-long celebration, beginning Monday, Jan. 13.
To be included in the fun, pick up a Dolly Parton Birthday Passport featuring seven Dolly-themed activities at any of the five Chattanooga Public Library locations, Clumpies on Market Street or North Shore, Texas Roadhouse’s Hixson or Gunbarrel locations, or download the passport here and print at home.
Families who participate can be entered for a chance to win a brand-new iPad.
Some of the family-friendly, stamp-earning activities from Jan. 13 to 19 include:
- Dining at Texas Roadhouse’s Hixson or Gunbarrel locations
- Attending the UTC Women’s Basketball game versus Mercer
- Attending the Chattanooga Public Library’s Dolly programming at any of their five locations
- Sampling a Dolly-inspired ice cream flavor at Clumpies Ice Cream Co.
When four of the seven activities have been completed, the passport can be dropped off at a collection box at any of the passport participating locations as one entry in the chance to win a free iPad. Families who complete all seven activities get a second entry into the drawing. Limit one entry per child, and only families with children under five can participate.
The all-things-Dolly celebrations don’t end there. On Jan. 11 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Creative Discovery Museum will host Dolly Days with story times, dance parties, crafts, kitchen lessons and more. Also, adults can attend a Dolly karaoke night at The Boneyard on Wednesday, Jan. 15. And CARTA will be debuting a Dolly-wrapped bus with a free little library inside for passengers to enjoy.
Chattanooga nonprofit, Signal Centers, is the local community partner for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Hamilton County. This global program gifts free books every month to children until their fifth birthday. The aim of the Imagination Library is to promote early literacy as a key component to success later in life.
“Signal Centers’ work is about giving children the best start to life possible, and we know that a major part of that is instilling an early love of reading,” Lesa Witt, director for the Imagination Library in Hamilton County, said. “We are excited about how our local community and business partners have rallied around this cause and are helping us, as Dolly puts it, ‘get as many books in the hands of as many children as possible.’”
The data supporting the Imagination Library’s impact on a child’s future academic and developmental success is noteworthy. A child with just 20-25 age-appropriate books in the home will complete, on average, two more years of education than a child with no age-appropriate books in the home.
In addition, 90% of parents report the Imagination Library has helped prepare their child for the transition to kindergarten. Currently, more than 14,000 Hamilton County children receive books from the Imagination Library each month.
Signal Centers has been a cornerstone of the Chattanooga community since 1957. Its comprehensive early childhood education and disability services focus on fostering lifelong learning and independence for all. From one classroom of nine children with cerebral palsy to a statewide organization comprised of 13 distinct programs, the nonprofit’s mission of self-sufficiency remains unchanged.