Leah Demaree Douglas Imagination Foundation

Founded in 2019, the Leah Demaree Douglas IMAGINATION Foundation is committed to promoting the benefits of childhood literacy in Bosque County, Texas. By providing fun, engaging books to local families with children under five years old, the Leah Demaree Douglas IMAGINATION Foundation is helping to create a love of reading and supporting early childhood development in Bosque County’s preschoolers.

About Leah

Leah Demaree Douglas was a mother, avid reader, and entrepreneur in Clifton, Texas, who was passionate about the benefits of reading to her daughter, Madeline, every day. Leah wanted all preschoolers in Bosque County to have access to the books and resources they need to develop a love of reading and be successful when they start Kindergarten. To honor Leah’s memory and passion for early childhood literacy, her family and friends partnered with the Dolly Parton Imagination Foundation to launch the Leah Demaree Douglas IMAGINATION Foundation in Bosque County, Texas.

Benefits of early childhood literacy

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, more than one in three American children start kindergarten without the skills they need to learn to read. As a result, about two-thirds of children can’t read proficiently by the end of the third grade. The solution: reading aloud with your kids.

Reading aloud to a child each day increases literacy, builds a social bond, and encourages a love of reading that boosts success in school. When a parent or trusted adult reads to a child – even an infant – it stimulates the part of the brain that helps build key language, literacy and social skills. A recent study found that “reading at home with children from an early age was strongly correlated with brain activation in areas connected with visual imagery and understanding the meaning of language” (TIME.com)