Iam Tongi, the winner of season 21 of American Idol, will perform in Ridgefield next month in support of a program that aims to boost childhood literacy rates.

The Jan. 18 concert at Ilani Resort in Ridgefield will benefit Imagination Library of Washington, the statewide partner of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Established statewide in 2022, the Imagination Library provides free monthly books to children up to 5 years old regardless of their family’s income.

“We are so excited to celebrate Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in a fun way. We are beyond grateful to American Idol Champion Iam Tongi for stepping up to provide an unforgettable evening of entertainment to ensure our children continue to receive their free monthly Imagination Library books in Washington State,” Imagination Library of Washington

Executive Director Brooke Fisher-Clark said in a statement.

Across the state, more than 120,000 children have registered for the program, including 2,598 children in Lewis County. In an update earlier this month, Annie Oien, executive director of the United Way of Lewis County, said the program currently has 2,700 enrollees with more than 5,000 kids graduated.

According to the United Way of Lewis County, the milestone “would not have been possible without the generosity and vision of the Lewis County Rotary Foundation, which on November 26, 2019, presented United Way of Lewis County with a $20,000 check to launch this transformative initiative.”

During the Cascade Community Healthcare legislative forum, Oien noted that a child’s fifth birthday, the program cutoff, marks a significant milestone in their early childhood, as most brain development occurs by then.

“We also know that the more that we can facilitate touch, connectedness with their parents and caregivers, is going to be magnificent to their mental health and development,” Oien said. “So this has just been such an exciting thing.”

The Imagination Library launched statewide to much excitement in 2022, with legislation to expand the program overwhelmingly passing both chambers. State Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia, a sponsor of the legislation, introduced Parton when she visited Tacoma in August 2023 to promote the program and celebrate its successful first year.

“Reading together not only helped our children to become kindergarten-ready, it created quality family time,” Abbarno said as he recounted his family’s use of the program. “We focused on us. And I think that’s, to me, the best part of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.”

Parton, a world-renowned country music singer, established the program in her home county in East Tennessee in 1995. Since its creation, the program has expanded to states across the country, and internationally to Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.

According to the Imagination Library, the program distributes more than a million books a month, with one in seven American children under the age of five registered.

“I think it really instills a love for reading and a love for books,” Parton said during the Aug. 15, 2023 event.

The concert by Tongi will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $85, and attendees who wish to spend the night will receive a 20% discount on hotel accommodations.

For more information, go to https://www.imaginationlibrarywashington.org/iam_tongi_benefit_concert.