Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Sends Children a Free Book Every Month. Here’s How You Can Get Yours.
December 21, 2022
source: Dolly Parton's Imagination Library
I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t love Dolly Parton. And if you weren’t already a fan of this musical icon, you will be after hearing about this. Founded in 1996, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library provides over one million free books per month to children from birth to age five, across multiple countries. The organization aims to provide young children with free, high-quality books to inspire a love of reading and access to information from an early age.
Beginning with humble roots, the Imagination Library first distributed books to children in Dolly’s home state of Tennessee. The initiative quickly garnered attention with its success, later spreading across the country and ultimately, across multiple countries. The idea for the Imagination Library was inspired by Dolly’s own father.
“Hi everybody. This is Dolly. 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.
Inspiring kids to love to read became my mission. In the beginning, my hope was simply to inspire the children in my home county but here we are today with a worldwide program that gives a book a month to well over 1 million children.
Of course, I have not done this alone. The real heroes of our story are the thousands of local organizations who have embraced my dream and made it their own. They raise millions of dollars each year and wake up every day with a passion to make sure their kids have every opportunity to succeed.
It’s been quite a journey but we have so much more left to do. I would love for your community to join our family so please take the time to explore our website. Let’s share this dream that all children should grow up in a home full of books.
The first step is always the hardest, but you’ll never know unless you try…”
From the website for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Interested in connecting your child with the Imagination Library? Visit this link to find out how to get started. The Imagination Library is such a wonderful initiative that inspires literacy and a love of reading in children, even if they don’t have many resources available to them. Gosh, we just don’t deserve Dolly Parton!