Dolly Parton Champions Literacy with Imagination Library

The hair, the voice, and most of all her true, kind heart, Dolly Parton has become a household name and the queen of country music. Parton has had an incredible music career spanning over 50 years, with 25 chart-topping number one hits and millions of albums sold. There's no denying that Parton has made a name for herself, including her amusement park dubbed Dollywood.

Most don't know one of Parton's endeavors includes a wonderful organization called the Imagination Library. Originally started in Parton's birthplace of Sevier County, Tennessee back in 1995, books were handed out to children to encourage reading. As the years went on, the program expanded across the globe, reaching children in Canada, Australia, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom.

Through this program, people can sign their children up from infants to five year olds to receive quality books no matter their family's income. These books are mailed directly to the child's address every month.

Parton's inspiration to start such a program was from her daddy, who never learned to read or write.

“Before he passed away, my Daddy told me the Imagination Library was probably the most important thing I had ever done. I can’t tell you how much that meant to me because I created the Imagination Library as a tribute to my Daddy. 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." said Parton on her letter from Dolly on the Imagination Library website.

At the beginning of 1995, their first book order was 1,760 books. Now almost 30 years later Parton provides over 2 million books a month to children eager to read. Since the start of Imagination Library through February of 2024 the program has given over 232 million free books.

If you or anyone you know has a child five years old or younger make sure to sign up for this amazing program at Imagination Library's website.