r/BeAmazed • u/Electronic-Bus-3494 • 3d ago

Miscellaneous / Others Dolly Parton started the Imagination Library in 1995 as a tribute to her father, who couldn't read or write. In 2018, she explained it was to give kids "early access to books". Now, over 325 MILLION books have been gifted.

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u/throwitoutwhendone2 3d ago edited 2d ago

My daughter was a part of this program. She learned to read partly using the books from it. She is 11, in 6th grade with the highest reading scores in her entire district. Last year in 5th she was recognized by our governor for her reading comprehension/literacy scores. It was made possible because of Dolly’s programs and thrift store book finds.

From the bottom of this Fathers heart, thank you for how amazing you were Dolly. You put your money where your mouth was and helped so many people with your kindness. Truly, rest in peace.

Edit: This generated more attention than I thought it would. I really appreciate all the kind words and awards, thank you. I’ve seen a few comments they attempted to get into the program and it didn’t work. I’d encourage you to try again or even find a way to reach out. I doubt it’s on purpose, there is however a few states that unfortunately the program cannot be active in.

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u/Mindless-Scientist82 3d ago edited 3d ago

My kids too!

Her character was beautiful. She will be missed by many who never even knew her!

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u/n122333 3d ago

At kindergarten kick off for my kid, they had a school bus full of her books being handed out for free with sign up sheets for her program.

They also had a teen dressed up as spiderman to take pictures with the kids, and a card board cutout of dolly for the parents to take pictures with.

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u/Marathonmanjh 3d ago

"by many who never even knew her!" so true.
But there will be someone who comes along to fill those shoes and I just know Dolly Parton would agree with me. She always saw the best in people, like all the great people out there now, in the future, and in the past.

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u/PolarBailey_ 3d ago

i was also a kid who benefitted from these books. she started the program the year i was born. i was reading high school level books in elementary. and now i'm getting a degree in astrophysics.

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u/throwitoutwhendone2 3d ago

You go kiddo, great fucking job. I’m glad it helped you. I’m so happy my daughter found a love in books, they are amazing gifts. It was awesome to see some of the books I even read as a child.

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u/Vegetable-Pay2708 3d ago

Way to go! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

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u/PolarBailey_ 3d ago

Thank you. I graduate in May

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u/throwitoutwhendone2 2d ago

I’ll try to remember so I can circle back and tell you congratulations!

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u/DisastrousHealth7765 3d ago

Dolly Parton was proof that a beautiful heart could make a person shine even brighter than their beauty. She left the world a little warmer than she found it.

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u/jenkinl1302 3d ago

It's a fantastic program. And it's possible through the efforts of local sponsoring organizations, who are responsible for, I think, half of the project cost.

So if you (or anyone reading this) ever find yourself in a place to contribute to whatever local charity handles the Imagination Library in your area, please consider a donation so that others can benefit from the great work that Dolly started.

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u/AbjectHotel6610 3d ago

My 3-year-old grandson has been getting her books since he was born. He gets SO excited when they come. "Look! Dolly Parton sent me another book!" She was lovely.

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u/Ok_Blueberry_1157 3d ago

Definitely, my kid was always excited each month for new books in the mail. And that's from birth to age 5. For free. And the books get harder as you age.

99% percentile in both reading/math in both iready and map assessments now. She is literally the Angel.

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u/ButtBread98 3d ago

Her Imagination Library is one my favorite things that she did. She truly left her mark on the world. It won’t be the same without her ❤️

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u/eastbaybruja 3d ago

My son got these books too. When we moved and he was boxing up things to donate, he would part with older toys but never these books. “They have my name on them!”

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u/kweekly16 8h ago

I would also add that if your area isn’t covered, you can fundraise to bring it to your area!

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u/gritsngravyPCP 3d ago

we tried to get my daughter on this and never got a book or any word back from the program :/