United Way Hosts Dolly Day at Sherman Public Library as Imagination Library Grows in Grayson County

United Way of Grayson County is bringing a free family event called Dolly Day to Sherman Public Library as part of its push for the Imagination Library of Grayson County, according to the organization's website. The local program is an affiliate of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library and mails free, high-quality books to Grayson County children from birth through age five.

The effort builds on a program that is already running. On its Imagination Library page, United Way says the Grayson County affiliate mailed more than 40,000 books to local children during its first two years, and it describes the current campaign as growth for that existing operation rather than the start of something new.

Reports have circulated that United Way of Grayson County received expansion funding from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. The commission's published list of grant recipients does not include a direct award to the nonprofit. The Grayson County literacy-expansion grant that appears on that list went to Pottsboro Area Public Library for Story Bites, a literacy outreach project serving communities across the county, according to the commission's records.

The commission says on its grants page that its competitive awards go to public and academic libraries and can support projects that promote reading and literacy.

The same recipient list shows separate state library funding coming to Cooke County for an unrelated purpose. According to the commission, a fiscal year 2027 TexTreasures grant to Cooke County Library will pay for digitizing issues of the Gainesville Daily Register published between 1958 and 1970. That project is aimed at public access to local newspaper history rather than book delivery for young children.

For families here in Cooke County, the coverage area is the key detail. United Way describes the Imagination Library of Grayson County as serving children who live in Grayson County, at no cost to their families, from birth until their fifth birthday. Enrollment information and the Dolly Day listing are posted on the United Way of Grayson County website.

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library operates through local affiliates, each covering its own service area. United Way of Grayson County identifies itself as the affiliate for Grayson County, according to its website, and Sherman Public Library is serving as the venue for its latest outreach event.