Trust me, I’m not easily impressed, despite how much I’m going to rave about Dolly for the next few minutes. Dolly Parton is truly a living, breathing angel among us. As far as Hollywood goes, few people deserve praise. Most celebrities are rather self-absorbed and don’t care to help others, but NOT Dolly!
Dolly not only shares the gift of her talent (trust me, it’s a gift — have you seen music award shows these days?) but she helps make the world a better place with charitable initiatives, including her children’s book donation program, Imagination Library.
For those that don’t know, Dolly founded her Imagination Library back in 1995. The organization started as a tribute to her father who couldn’t read.
“Before he passed away, my Daddy told me the Imagination Library was probably the most important thing I had ever done,” Dolly writes on the library’s website.
“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.”
She continued: “Inspiring kids to love to read became my mission…. 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.”
The Imagination Library’s mission is to ensure that children across the world access to reading by sending kids free books in the mail every month until they start school.
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It’s truly an amazing initiative!
Please note, these aren’t rinky-dink numbers, y’all. Dolly is donating nearly 1.5 MILLION books a month!
Discussing her title as the “book lady” back in 2018, Dolly laughed and said, “I never thought about being ‘the book lady,’”.
“The painted lady, yes, the overexaggerated lady. That goes to show you can’t judge a book by its cover.”
The counties that can access Dolly’s Imagination Library include the U.S., Australia, Britain, Canada, and Ireland!
Now, it has been revealed that Dolly has helped donate over 150 MILLION books to children across the world!
If you’re interested in learning more about the Imagination Library, the charity recently released an amazing documentary that highlights not only Dolly’s efforts but the amazing support she’s received from countless individuals.
As Dolly once said: “If I’m remembered 100 years from now, I hope it will be not for looks but for books.” Who says you can’t be remembered for both, Dolly?
Needless to say, the world needs more celebrities like Dolly. People can only thrive when we all work together! Yes, I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s TRUE!
If you or someone you know is interested in signing their children up for the Imagination Library program, please click here .