preschool child in her home town of Sevier County, Tennessee, with an age appropriate book each month from birth to age 5. The goal was to help instil a love of reading and learning and a future filled with possibilities, imagination and inspiration. Growing up with 11 siblings in a
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small, wooden shack in the Smoky Mountains, Dolly saw how her father struggled with illiteracy. She understood that this held him back in life and, despite working extremely hard to provide for his family, they were poor and times were tough. Dolly has never forgotten those early childhood experiences, and despite being filled with love and happiness, these memories are reflected in much of her work. Years later, when Dolly found
herself in a position to help, she decided that above all, she wanted to support children with their education. Dolly is not a teacher or an educator but she sought the opinions and wisdom of professionals to determine the best way to give a child a good start in life. The response was simple: start early; make it fun; provide opportunities for parent-child interactions in the home; repeat. And so the Imagination Library emerged: free, quality, age-appropriate books to be sent in the mail to every child in the community from the time they
n 1996 Dolly Parton developed a unique children’s book gifting programme -Imagination Library. Dolly wanted to provide every
were born until they reached five, creating a home library and laying the foundation for a life-long love of books. What started as a small
community programme for children in Sevier County soon began to generate interest from communities of all sizes from all over the United States. After much consideration, planning and support from the Dollywood Foundation Board, Dolly, through her foundation, found a way to offer her Imagination Library for replication in any community that would support it. 16 years later, Dolly Parton’s
Imagination Library has touched the lives of millions of families, with almost 40 million books mailed to 650,000 children in 1,700 communities in 3 countries – the USA, Canada and, since 2008, the United Kingdom. Local communities are at the heart of these remarkable achievements. Such success could not continue without the support of local communities and sponsors who manage and finance their own local Imagination Library programmes. In the USA, many of these
programmes have been set up and managed by PTAs and school boards. In the UK, there are over 30 Imagination Library programmes being sponsored by a variety of local organisations, from local authorities and schools to Rotary Clubs and private businesses. A few UK Imagination Libraries are sponsored by local residents and
volunteer committees who involve the whole community in their fundraising events. At an annual cost of £25 per child per year, which is heavily subsidised by the Dollywood Foundation, many communities have come up with unique and wonderful fundraising ideas. It is very much a community led early literacy programme. The programme works through
a direct partnership between local community groups and the Dollywood Foundation. Local communities replicate Dolly’s Imagination Library model, organising the registration of local eligible children, promoting and fundraising, whilst the Dollywood Foundation takes care of book selection and ordering, sending one brand new, age-appropriate book every month directly to children enrolled on the programme. The books arrive in a package addressed to the child at the child’s home address. This regular moment of excitement,