• Country music icon Dolly Parton died at age 80.
  • In 1995, Parton launched the Imagination Library in her Tennessee hometown to honor her father, who couldn’t read or write, mailing free books monthly to children under 5.
  • Over 31 years, the Imagination Library expanded globally, reaching 3+ million children monthly.
  • You can still donate to the cause today.

Country music icon and philanthropist Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80. Beyond her chart-topping hits, she leaves behind a legacy of kindness, positivity, and over-the-top glamour. (“It costs lots of money to look this cheap!” she used to joke.) But many children around the world will remember her for something particularly special: Her Imagination Library.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a nonprofit that mails free, high-quality books to children from birth to age 5, regardless of family income. She began the program in honor of her father, who couldn’t read or write. Dolly Parton was one of 12 children, and her childhood home lacked both electricity and running water. With the Imagination Library, she aimed to make books accessible to all children who want to read, regardless of their circumstances.

Donate to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

The Imagination Library started out as a small program in 1995, serving only children in Sevier County, Tennessee, where Dolly grew up.

“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,” Parton wrote in a letter on the Imagination Library website. “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 3 million children.”

In the 31 years since Dolly launched the program, the Imagination Library has gifted over 200 million books to children across the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and Ireland, according to the site.

The Imagination Library has been so impactful that we recognized it with the Good Housekeeping Seal in 2001. It marked the first and only time it had ever been awarded to a person, and we can’t think of a better icon to have that distinction.

To honor Dolly Parton’s legacy, you can donate to the Imagination Library to continue her incredible impact on childhood literacy.