An uplifting theme during the current situation due to the Covid-19 pandemic is that everyone wants to help. One thing I know about living in Palm Beach County, is that our neighbors and friends come together in a time of crisis. This is always apparent during the prep time before an impending hurricane, when you might find a neighbor whom you’ve never met before lending a hand to put up hurricane shutters. I love the spirit of positivity, persistence, and hope that I see coming across my newsfeed on social media during this challenging time, and the many great ideas for supporting each other!
Watching this situation unfold, my husband and I also want to help. We have formed a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Nicholas and Christen Thompson Foundation. My husband, Nick Thompson, is a professional golfer who has played eight seasons on the PGA Tour, as well as several seasons on the Korn Ferry (formerly Web.com) Tour, including nine appearances in the Honda Classic. Our goals for the Nicholas and Christen Thompson Foundation are to give back to the community, promote literacy, and improve outcomes whenever possible. Our first project toward this aim is bringing Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to Palm Beach County!
The Imagination Library is a book gifting program for children ages 0-5. The program mails one book per month to each enrolled child, free of charge. It was founded by Dolly Parton in 1995, and since its inception, the project has given books to over one million children. With your help, we are bringing the Imagination Library to Palm Beach County!
Especially now that schools and library are closed, it is so important for children to read at home. This becomes more difficult when parents are unable to obtain books from their child’s school or library, especially for those working in essential jobs.
My husband and I read to our two children every night, and we have since they were babies. We are so lucky to be able to afford both books to read to our kids, and the luxury of time together to do so. The single most important predictor of a child’s future success in school, is access to early literacy at home. The access to early literacy that the Imagination Library provide is amazing in terms of the educational research, and the results it has on kids’ future success in school. Each book is selected by educators and mailed to the child, and all a parent needs to do to participate, is register for the program.
In order to bring the Imagination Library to the Palm Beaches, we need your help! Please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our PayPal Giving Fund. The cost per child is $2.10 per month/$25 per year, so a donation in any amount will help to bring early literacy to a child in need, directly to their doorstep.
During times of crisis, its so important to support one another. With your help, we can help young children in Palm Beach County!
