Carolyn Robertson
posted in Celebrities
Dolly Parton has no children of her own, but the country superstar has made a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of kids over the years - and she's done it one book at a time.
In 1995, Dolly launched The Imagination Library, a nonprofit organization that aimed to deliver books free of charge to young children in her home town in East Tennessee, USA. Through the program, registered children receive a new, age-appropriate book in the mail every month from the time they are born to the time they enter kindergarten. They range from classics to new titles, from early level touch-and-feel books to those dealing with common fears to stories that help kids as they get ready to start school. The Imagination Library even offers braille and audio format books for children who are visually impaired.
Dolly says that the initiative was inspired by her father Robert Lee Parton, revealing, "My father couldn't read and write. I wanted to do something to honor my dad because he was a wonderful human being. So it's very personal to me. Very emotional. And I'm just so happy that I can help put books in the hands of children. You can't ever get enough of that, can you?"
It seems many people agree with her, because due to the overwhelming response, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library started an affiliate program in 2000, partnering with local communities and organizations who wanted to get involved in the early literacy initiative. In the 20 years since its inception, the program has spread beyond Tennessee, across the country and to other corners of the world, too. An astounding 60,000,000 books have been gifted to over children in the USA, the UK and Canada.
My daughter with a favorite book
Think about that for a minute. Think of the excitement a child feels when they receive a gift in the mail, the joy they get from reading a book, and from sharing it with someone they love. Thanks to the Imagination Library, that has happened 60 million times. According to the organization's Web site, "Already statistics and independent reports have shown Dolly Parton's Imagination Library drastically improves early childhood literacy for children enrolled in the program. Further studies have shown improved scores during early literacy testing."
Dolly says that her hope was that The Imagination Library would in some small way help to open up new worlds for kids, putting them on the path to achieving whatever goals they eventually set for themselves: "When I was growing up in the hills of East Tennessee, I knew my dreams would come true. I know there are children in your community with their own dreams. They dream of becoming a doctor or an inventor or a minister. Who knows, maybe there is a little girl whose dream is to be a writer and singer," she writes in an open letter on the Web site. "The seeds of these dreams are often found in books and the seeds you help plant in your community can grow across the world."
My first impression upon learning about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library was that it's just such an incredible and inspiring initiative. My second was: How did I not know about this before now?! With my youngest set to enter Kindergarten in the fall it's a little too late for us to sign up, but I'm still so happy to know that a program like this even exists. On a daily basis, I see the joy my two girls get from books, whether it's my preschooler reading her favorite "lift-the-flap" story for the hundredth time or my 3rd grader with her nose in chapter book, lost in a mermaid mystery. That's a bit of magic every child should have the chance to experience.
My hat's off to Dolly for touching the lives of so many kids in such a wonderful way.
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Photo: PR Photos
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