To encourage early childhood literacy, Earthrise Energy today announced it has awarded a $12,000 RISE Grant award to the United Way of Danville to fund the expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a book gifting program, in Vermilion County. The grant will help provide high-quality books to children from birth to age five that live in the Tilton, Caitlin, Belgium, Westville, Georgetown, and Danville communities.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library mails free books to children from birth to age five, no matter their family’s income. Since the program was launched by the United Way of Danville in 2010, more than 3,500 children from the local area have graduated from the program.

“This program not only gives children a jump start to their lifelong learning journey, it helps strengthen the bond between the child and reader,” said Mary Surprenant, CEO of United Way of Danville Area. “We could not be more grateful for this opportunity to partner with Earthrise Energy and continue this mission. Now, thanks to Earthrise’s community grant, even more children will have access to this opportunity.”

Founded to accelerate the clean energy transition, Earthrise Energy owns and operates five natural gas plants in Illinois, including the Tilton Energy power plant in Tilton, the Gibson City Energy Center in Gibson City, and the Shelby County Energy Center in Neoga. The company acquired the Tilton, Gibson City, and Shelby County plants in December 2021 and launched its RISE Grant program this fall to help fund local initiatives that promote excellence in education, protect the environment, and support the communities where Earthrise has operations.

“I am delighted that Earthrise is able to support the expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Vermilion County through our RISE Grant program. As a mother and an avid reader, I couldn’t imagine a more perfect present for a child than giving the gift of reading,” said Carla Tully, Chief Executive Officer of Earthrise Energy. “I also couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate our one-year anniversary of acquiring the Tilton Energy plant than supporting such a great endeavor.”

To learn more about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and to sign up for the program, go to https://www.unitedwayda.com/DPIL.

About Earthrise Energy

Earthrise Energy, PBC, is an independent power producer advancing the clean energy transition. As a public benefit corporation, Earthrise seeks to power our world more responsibly, sustainably, and equitably than ever before. The company acquires, develops, and operates power generation facilities to provide reliable electricity, support decarbonizing the grid, and meet the evolving needs of our customers and communities. The company is developing more than 1.5 gigawatts of renewable energy projects and has an operating portfolio of flexible natural gas peaking plants that provide nearly 1.7 gigawatts of capacity to support a future energy system that is reliable, resilient, and renewable. Learn about Earthrise Energy at https://earthriseenergy.com.