Aishling Gilbee of Balranald gave a presentation at the recent NSW ICPA Conference, run by the Balranald ICPA and held at Euston, about the journey of rolling out the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in the Balranald community.

Aishling and Kyla O'Halloran were motivated to bring the program to their community after a home visit in the course of their jobs.

“We found it confronting to learn a mother had no books in the house for their children,” Aishling said.

“This was not a judgement on parents and is an exception rather than the rule for Balranald homes, but we were inspired to make sure there were no barriers stopping children from having exposure and access to books.”

They faced disappointment when they learnt that their area was not included in the New South Wales state government's fully funded rollout of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which appeared to be a targeted approach focusing on boosting literacy skills in the state's most vulnerable areas.

Despite this, Aishling and Kyla, through Balranald organisation Balranald Inc, successfully secured funding for two years’ worth of books for 120 children in the Balranald and Euston communities, totalling $26,000.

This was achieved through funding from various local organisations.

The books started being distributed in August 2024, and by the time of the conference, 120 children were enrolled, with one little girl who initially had no books now having nine at home.

As child and family health nurses, Aishling and Kyla are in a prime position to register newborns onto the program with parental permission.

Their driving force is the awareness that while some homes have many books, others have none.

The ICPA conference itself has aimed to raise money to donate to the Imagination Library, meaning attendees were contributing to its continuation.

The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is a program that mails free, high-quality books to enrolled children from birth to age five, no matter their family's income.

The goal of the program is to foster a love of reading and ensure that children have books in their homes from an early age, which is linked to increased school readiness.

Pictured are Balranald Early Childhood Nurses Kyla O'Halloran and Aishling Gilbee, who implemented the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in the Balranald and Euston areas. Image: The Riverine Grazier/Kimberly Grabham.