September-October 2026: Beginnings • Join us to honor musical legend and philanthropist Dolly Parton and celebrate her Imagination Library, which starts a lifetime of literacy for millions of kids
A tribute from the Inkandescent Kids team to a star who inspired a generation of kids to read: Dolly Parton, creator of the Imagination Library (January 1946-August 2026)
What can we say about Dolly Parton other than — wow! Born on January 19, 1946, in Sevier County, Tennessee, Dolly Rebecca Parton grew up in a humble family as one of twelve children in a small one-bedroom home nestled in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. She consistently drew inspiration throughout her career from her immense appreciation and love for the place and people that raised her.
In 2022, Dolly was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Dolly earned 29 RIAA-certified gold, platinum, and multi-platinum awards across her career, selling over 100 million albums worldwide. She had 26 songs reach #1 on the Billboard Country charts during her lifetime – a record for a female artist. Across her career, Dolly saw her music top Billboard’s Hot 100, Country, Pop, Adult Contemporary, Bluegrass, Christian, Rock, and Dance charts.
Perhaps her true legacy is her Imagination Library
In 1988, Dolly began an initiative to inspire the children in her home county to achieve educational success. Her initial efforts focused on decreasing the dropout rate in the county’s high school. In the early 90s, Dolly promised every 7th-grade and 8th-grade student she would personally give them $500 if they graduated from high school. This effort, called the Buddy Program, reduced the dropout rate for these two classes from 35% to 6%. More importantly, the program catalyzed the community to provide additional resources to sustain this improvement in the dropout rate.
In 1995, the Foundation implemented Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Sevier County, Tennessee. This monthly book gifting program for children under five focused on inspiring a love of books and reading for all preschool children in the county. What was founded as a local program grew into an international movement through the unique partnership among the Foundation, the publisher, the fulfillment centers, and the thousands of local organizations who adopted the program. The Imagination Library continues to be the signature program of the Foundation.
Learn more here: imaginationlibrary.com• Scroll down to read a beautiful letter from Dolly! Keep reading!
Letter from“Hi everybody. This is Dolly.
“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. 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.
“Of course, I have not done this alone. The real heroe
A Letter from Dolly: Parton’s Imagination Librarys 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.
“It’s been quite a journey but we have so much more left to do. I would love for your community to join our family so please take the time to explore our website. Let’s share this dream that all children should grow up in a home full of books.
“The first step is always the hardest, but you’ll never know unless you try…”
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Scholarships: The Foundation also offers five scholarships to the county’s high school seniors to help further their education at any accredited university. The Dolly Parton Scholarship is a $15,000 scholarship awarded annually at each high school. The scholarships are for students who have a dream they wish to pursue and can successfully communicate their plan and commitment to realize it. The Foundation also administers several additional scholarships. In 2016, Dolly provided a $30,000 scholarship to a young girl in Arkansas to recognize the Imagination Library’s achievement of distributing books to 1 million children each month. Once she reaches 18 years of age in 2032, the scholarship will be $60,000.
The My People Fund®: On November 28, 2016, massive fires swept through the county, destroying the homes of over
1,000 families in Sevier County. Dolly asked the Foundation to lead the effort to distribute $1,000 per month for 6 months to the families who lost their primary residence. In two weeks, the Foundation created The My People Fund, designed the distribution process, and implemented the distribution. In May 2017, the Foundation concluded the distribution, announcing that over $12M had been raised and given to the families who lost their homes. Additional funds raised also provided one-time scholarships to high school seniors whose homes were lost to the fires.