โWhen 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. The seeds of these dreams are often found in books and the seeds you help plant in your community can grow across the world.โ
A singer-songwriter, actress and philanthropist, known primarily for her decades-long career in country music, with songs like "9 to 5", "Jolene" and "I will always love you". Since the mid-1980s, Dolly Parton has supported many charitable efforts, particularly in the area of literacy, primarily through her Dollywood Foundation.
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is dedicated to inspiring a love of
reading by gifting books free of charge to children from birth to age
five, through funding shared by Dolly Parton and local community
partners in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and
Republic of Ireland.
Inspired by her father's inability to read and write Dolly started her
Imagination Library in 1995 to benefit the children of her home county
in East Tennessee, USA. Dolly's vision was to foster a love of reading
among her county's preschool children and their families by providing
them with the gift of a specially book each month.
Today, her program spans five countries and gifts over 2 million free
books each month to children around the world.