Company's donation will expand early childhood
literacy access and impact in Isle of
Wight County, Virginia, through continued partnership with
The DeGood Foundation
SMITHFIELD, Va., May 15, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- In the second year since the expansion
of Dolly Parton's Imagination
Library into Isle of Wight County,
Virginia, Smithfield Foods has donated $12,000 to The DeGood Foundation, a local
Imagination Library partner, to expand access of the book-gifting
program for 2024.
"Through our partnership with The DeGood
Foundation, we're able to continue expanding literacy access to all
children."
"It's no secret that reading at an early age can have a profound
impact on a child's life and future success," said Steve Evans, vice president, community
development for Smithfield Foods. "Through our partnership with The
DeGood Foundation, we're able to continue expanding literacy access
to all children and deepening the program impact in Isle of Wight County, bolstering our
commitment to do good work in our communities."
Recent legislation passed by the Virginia General Assembly
supports continued expansion of Dolly
Parton's Imagination Library book gifting program in
Virginia. Virginia State expansion monies were approved in
2022 and renewed for the next two years. Smithfield's $12,000 donation together with the Commonwealth's
$12,000 funding match would provide
$24,000 to Isle of Wight County, which will help
distribute books to more children, supporting early literacy
development, knowledge and fundamental skills.
This is the second year of Smithfield's support for The DeGood
Foundation, following a $6,675
donation in 2023. Smithfield and
the Foundation held a kick-off event in February 2023 at the Smithfield Center to
celebrate and enroll local children in the program.
To date, 45% of eligible children in Isle of Wight County have been enrolled, with
more than 7,600 books distributed to over 600 children in the
county.
"We couldn't be more excited to continue to partner with our
friends at Smithfield Foods to get more free books into the hands
of more children," said Kyle DeGood,
founder and executive director for The DeGood Foundation. "Our
expansion to Isle of Wight County,
made possible by Smithfield, was
one of our best performing expansions to date. We're so grateful to
be working with a corporate partner that cares so much for the
communities where their associates live and work."
Enrolled children will receive a free brand-new, age-appropriate
book in the mail every month from the time they are born to age
five. Parents and guardians can register at their local library
branch or online at www.degoodfoundation.org or
www.imaginationlibrary.com.
Smithfield is committed to
developing the next generation of leaders through donations to
schools and education programs and providing scholarship assistance
for 1,500 students globally by 2025. Last year, the company funded
more than $2.5 million in education
programs and awarded scholarships of more than $740,000 to 13 schools in seven states for the
2023–2024 school year. For more information, visit
https://smithfieldfoods.com/sustainability/helping-communities/.
About Smithfield Foods, Inc.
Headquartered in Smithfield, Virginia, since
1936, Smithfield Foods, Inc. is a U.S. food company that
employs more than 54,000 people in seven countries and partners
with thousands of American farmers. As one of the world's leading
vertically integrated protein companies, we are dedicated to
producing "Good food. Responsibly.®" to feed a growing
world population. We have pioneered sustainability
standards for more than two decades, including our
industry-leading commitments to become carbon negative in our U.S.
company-owned operations and reduce GHG emissions 30% across our
entire U.S. value chain by 2030. We believe in the power of protein
to end food insecurity and have donated hundreds of millions of
food servings to food banks, disaster relief efforts and community
outreach programs in all 50 U.S. states. Smithfield boasts a
portfolio of high-quality iconic brands, such
as Smithfield®, Eckrich®,
Gwaltney® and Nathan's Famous®, among many
others. For more information, visit
www.smithfieldfoods.com and connect with us
on Facebook, X, formerly known as Twitter,
LinkedIn, Instagram and Threads.
About The DeGood Foundation
Founded by Kyle DeGood in 2017, The DeGood Foundation, a
501(c)3 non-profit organization, ensures that all children on the
Virginia Peninsula have equitable
access to positive early childhood experiences that nurture, grow,
and inspire through programs such as Dolly
Parton's Imagination Library and Bags of Hope. The
foundation believes that children can achieve by inspiring them to
Dream More, Learn More, Care More, and Be More. Since 2019, the
foundation has mailed over 40,000 books to children through
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library
and has become one of the fastest growing affiliates of the
Imagination Library in the state of Virginia. For more information, visit
www.degoodfoundation.org, and connect with us on Facebook,
Instagram, and LinkedIn.
About Dolly Parton's
Imagination Library
Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library has become
the preeminent early childhood book-gifting program in the world.
The flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation, a 501(c)(3)
non-profit organization, has gifted over 200 million free books in
the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and The
Republic of Ireland. The Imagination Library mails more than 3
million high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to enrolled
children from birth to age five. Dolly envisioned creating a
lifelong love of reading and inspiring children to dream more,
learn more, care more and be more.
The program has been widely researched and results demonstrate
the positive impact on early childhood development and literacy
skills. Penguin Random House is the exclusive publisher for
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.
For more information, please visit imaginationlibrary.com.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/smithfield-foods-donates-12-000-to-expand-dolly-partons-imagination-library-in-virginia-302146853.html
SOURCE Smithfield Foods, Inc.