Bright Beginnings
Early Care and Education Coalition
In response to growing concerns about early care and education access, affordability, and quality, the Johnson County Community Foundation (JCCF) has launched the Bright Beginnings Early Care and Education Coalition. This initiative, driven by a 2024 countywide needs assessment and in collaboration with Transform Consulting Group, seeks to address a critical shortage of early care and education.
With approximately 12,000 children under age five in the county and 68% of their parents in the workforce according to Brighter Futures Indiana Data Center, the need for reliable childcare is urgent. JCCF views early childhood education as both a quality of life and economic development issue, helping parents remain employed and supporting children's early learning.
Although a Lilly Endowment grant application did not secure funding, it highlighted urgent gaps and guided the formation of the Coalition, which began meeting in 2025. Throughout the year, the group will establish goals to address local needs and engage a variety of perspectives to shape long-term solutions.
If you are interested in participating in the coalition, please contact Kim Kasting at kimm@jccf.org.
Early Care and Education Committee Members
- Laura Heldman – Franklin Christian Children’s Ministry
- Kim Kasting – Johnson County Community Foundation
- Mandeep Kaur – NextGen School
- Chloe Limbach – Franklin Community School Corporation
- Lisa Lintner – Johnson County Public Library
- Stephanie Marten – Johnson County Community Foundation
- Jessica Schmollinger – Primrose School of Greenwood
- Sarah Taylor – Johnson County Public Library
- Dawn Underwood – Early Learning Community Preschool
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Johnson County (ILJC), a beloved program in our community, needs your help! ILJC sends free books to children from birth to age five. Following the recent passage of a budget bill by the Indiana General Assembly that eliminated state funding for the Imagination Library, the Foundation felt compelled to support ILJC in its fundraising efforts.
The Foundation’s Board of Directors allocated $500,000 to ILJC to use for a matching fundraising campaign in an effort to keep the organization sustainable in our community. The goal of this campaign is to build a $1,000,000 endowment fund to benefit ILJC. This would generate an annual distribution of around $40,000/year. The JCCF team met with the ILJC staff and their Board last month to discuss how to help raise funds for their matching campaign.
This is where you come in.
If you believe in the Imagination Library as much as we do, please consider donating to their matching campaign. Every dollar donated will be matched by the Foundation 1 to 1. Keep reading to learn more about the importance of early literacy and the ILJC.
Imagination Library of Johnson County Facts
- Cost per child per year: $16
- To sponsor a child for all 5 years: $80
- Total children enrolled in ILJC: 4,800
- Initial research data from the past 3 years show that Franklin Community Schools kindergartners enrolled in the Imagination Library for at least 4.5 years score higher on kindergarten literacy tests than the school district average.
- Since September 2017, ILJC has mailed over 213,000 books to Johnson County children.
