Hancock Literacy Fund

Type: Agency

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Hancock Literacy Fund

Established 2020

In 2009, a coalition focusing on literacy was created because of a community summit hosted by The Community Foundation. The summit revealed a notable lack of data regarding the state of literacy in Hancock County and the creation of a coalition to focus on local resources, expertise and interests on the issue of literacy in Hancock County would be a beneficial and strategic move for the community.

The coalition assessed the needs of the community. The key findings included:

  • 58.6% of Hancock County preschool-aged children are not ready to enter kindergarten and
  • 14% of the Hancock County adult population lacks basic literacy skills.

In response, the literacy coalition chose early childhood literacy as its first major initiative. They launched the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in 2014 to provide age-appropriate books, selected by a blue-ribbon panel of educators, monthly to children enrolled from birth until their fifth birthday.

In 2022, the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library took on the Imagination Library. This fund benefits literacy programming, including the Imagination Library, at the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library.