Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Expands Across United States

Dolly Parton is giving back to a cause near and dear to her heart. The country superstar has begun her mission of improving children’s literacy all over the country by starting her Imagination Library book giveaway program.  

Parton’s program has expanded across 21 states, as well as several countries. Children in these states under the age of 5 can have books mailed to their homes monthly to keep up with their reading skills, something her father never had the opportunity to do.  

Recently, the program extended to Kentucky and Missouri, and Dolly  traveled to the states to celebrate with them. Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky shared, “Team Kentucky is proud to be a part of bringing books to children across the commonwealth. The program has already had a tremendous impact on the state, and we are excited to help extend its reach even further.” 

What is the Imagination Library Program? 

The singer’s mission began as a way to honor her father, Robert Lee Parton, who was unable to read and write. Parton began the program in 1995, inspired by her father’s struggle.

“He was the smartest man I have ever known but I know in my heart his inability to read probably kept him from fulfilling all of his dreams,” Dolly explained of her father.  

This spurred her idea to begin the Imagination Library Program. Initially, the singer’s project was only in one county of her home state, Tennessee. But it wasn’t long before it was spreading all over the U.S. and to different countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia. Today, over 3 million books are sent out each month and over 240 million children have been helped through this book giveaway – the amazing part? Each child is treated to a free book, ensuring that no family is incurring the cost. 

While in Missouri this week, Dolly said, “In the mountains, a lot of people never had a chance to go to school because they had to work on the farms. They had to do whatever it took to keep the rest of the family going.” 

About Dolly Parton’s program and honoring her father 

Dolly  knows that her father was proud of her accomplishments as a singer, but he was more honored that she started a program dedicated to reading, particularly in his honor. 

“Before he passed away, my Daddy told me the Imagination Library was probably the most important thing I had ever done,” she said. “I can’t tell you how much that meant to me because I created the Imagination Library as a tribute to my Daddy.”  

Missouri is one of the states that is covering the whole cost of the program, which totaled to about $11 million in the last fiscal year. Other states are taking part in a cost-sharing model and chipping into the program.  

In Kentucky, over 120,000 children in preschool are signed up to receive books through the Imagination Library, which is nearly half of the state’s preschoolers. “It’s really a great way to teach children when they’re very young to learn to love books and to learn to read,” Dolly  explained while in Kentucky.  

What made Dolly Parton want to start a book giveaway program? 

Once Parton had the idea to inspire children to read from her father, it became her main mission. “Inspiring kids to love to read became my mission…It’s been quite a journey, but we have so much more left to do.” 

“Of course I want to be known as a songwriter and a singer, but I honestly can say that the Imagination Library has meant as much, if not more, to me than nearly anything that I’ve ever done,” she added. 

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