www.inspiremore.com
Dolly Parton Just Hit A New, Heartwarming Milestone
Dolly Parton is passionate about many things. She loves to sing, write songs, cook, and read. Dolly’s father couldn’t read or write, which had a profound effect on her and her relationship with reading. Her love of books inspired her to create something very special for kids in 1995.
“My dad was not able to read and write — he was a country boy with a bunch of kids, and he had to work instead of going to school when he was a little boy, and so he never had the chance to get an education,” Dolly once explained to People. “It seemed to really bother him a lot, and I thought, ‘Well, what can I do for my precious dad?’ ‘Cause he was the greatest daddy in the world and one of the smartest people I’d ever known.”
“So I said, ‘Dad, why don’t we put together a little program where we give children books from the time they’re born, once a month, until they start school?’” Dolly added. “That way, they can learn to read, love books. If you can read, you can kinda self-educate.”
For 30 years, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has provided millions of books to children worldwide in an effort to improve literacy. The program provides more than 3.4 million books per month to children in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Republic of Ireland. But things are just getting exciting.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Imagination Library (@imaginationlibrary)
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Is Celebrating A Huge Milestone
According to the organization’s website, during National Family Literacy Month in November, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library will celebrate having gifted more than 300 million books since 1995.
“Just two years after crossing the 200 million mark, the Imagination Library has soared to new heights, now gifting an incredible 3.4 million books each month to children around the world, and will deliver its 300 Millionth book this fall. This remarkable achievement wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of more than 2,800 Local Program Partners who help bring Dolly’s dream to life in communities across five countries,” the Imagination Library shared.
Dolly Parton’s father adored the imagination Library.
“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,” Dolly shared on the website.
This story’s featured image is by Shannon Finney/Getty Images.
The post Dolly Parton Just Hit A New, Heartwarming Milestone appeared first on InspireMore.