Molina Healthcare of Ohio Partners with Easterseals Central and Southeast Ohio to Support Ohio Governor's Imagination Library

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Molina Healthcare of Ohio is proud to partner with the Easterseals of Central and Southeast Ohio to support the Ohio Governor's Imagination Library with a financial grant. The Ohio Governor's Imagination Library, a program of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, provides age-appropriate reading materials to families with children from birth to age five across the state. The reading materials are provided to any family who requests to participate in the Ohio Governor's Imagination Library, and the goal is to grow the program to provide every Ohio child, regardless of location in the state, with books to help support their literacy.

"Molina Healthcare is committed to the children and new mothers and caregivers of Ohio," said Ami Cole, plan president of Molina Healthcare of Ohio. "We know that when children are provided the best learning resources, including age-appropriate books, they build a love for learning. This intellectual foundation is so important for the overall health of the child as they grow, and the books donated by the Ohio Governor's Imagination Library provide mothers and caregivers the tools they need to set their children up for success. We look forward to helping this program grow in counties across the state – especially southeast Ohio with the great work of Easterseals."

The First Lady of Ohio, Fran DeWine, is a passionate advocate for early childhood literacy and recognizes the importance of the Ohio Governor's Imagination Library and Molina's partnership.

"I am thrilled that Molina Healthcare is partnering with the Ohio Governor's Imagination Library to help us put more books in the hands of Ohio's youth," said First Lady DeWine. "Early access to books is critical to a child's success inside the classroom and beyond, and we want every child in Ohio to be able to register in the Ohio Governor's Imagination Library. We are so close to making this program available in every zip code in Ohio thanks to our amazing community partners like Molina Healthcare."

About Molina Healthcare of Ohio 
Since 2005, Molina Healthcare of Ohio has been providing government-funded, quality health care to low-income individuals. As of December 31, 2019, the company serves approximately 288,000 members through Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare-Medicaid (Duals) and Health Insurance Exchange programs across the state. To learn more, visit MolinaHealthcare.com.

About Easterseals Central and Southeast Ohio 
Since 1935, Easterseals Central and Southeast Ohio has been creating life-changing solutions for individuals with disabilities and their families. Whether providing recreational opportunities for children or helping children and adults with disabilities gain greater independence in everyday living, Easterseals offers a variety of services to address life's challenges and to help individuals achieve personal goals. We are one of 75 affiliates of what has become National Easterseals, with headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. Easterseals Central and Southeast Ohio, Inc. serves children and adults with disabilities in 28 central and southeast Ohio counties.

About Ohio Governor's Imagination Library (OGIL) 
Inspired by Ohio First Lady Fran DeWine's passion for early childhood literacy, the Ohio Governor's Imagination Library is a partnership with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to ensure children enter the classroom ready to succeed. Any child from birth to age five can enroll to receive a free, new book from the Ohio Governor's Imagination Library every month. The Ohio Governor's Imagination Library Program is working to ensure children in all 88 of Ohio's counties can enroll in Ohio Governor's Imagination Library in 2020 by providing a dollar for dollar funding match with each county that opens the OGIL to its residents. The Ohio General Assembly committed $5 million to the OGIL Program in the fiscal year 2020-2021 budget.

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 has mailed well over 100 million free books in Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom and the United States. The Imagination Library mails more than 1.4 million high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to registered children from birth to age five. Dolly envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading, inspiring them to dream. The impact of the program has been widely researched and results suggest positive increases in key early childhood literacy metrics. Penguin Random House is the exclusive publisher for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.

SOURCE Molina Healthcare of Ohio

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