Dolly Parton’s family is asking fans to honor the late country music legend by supporting one of the causes closest to her heart. Following Parton’s death at age 80, her representative announced that she would be laid to rest during a small, private service attended by immediate family members. Rather than sending flowers, fans were encouraged to donate to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, the childhood literacy program she founded more than 30 years ago.
The request offered a fitting way to honor a woman whose generosity became nearly as famous as her music. Long after Parton’s final song, millions of children will continue discovering their own dreams through the books she helped place inside their homes.
Parton founded the Imagination Library in 1995 through The Dollywood Foundation. The inspiration came from her father, Robert Lee Parton, who never learned to read or write. Although Parton described him as one of the smartest people she knew, she understood how his lack of literacy affected his confidence and opportunities.
She initially launched the program for preschool children living in Sevier County, Tennessee, where she grew up as one of 12 siblings in a poor family. Parton wanted every local child to have access to books, regardless of how much money their parents earned. She also wanted receiving a new book to feel special, which led to the program mailing each selection directly to the child’s home.
What began as a tribute to one father soon became a global effort to help millions of families.
When the program launched, it served only children in Parton’s home county. Its popularity quickly demonstrated that families well beyond East Tennessee could benefit from the same model. By 2000, the Imagination Library had begun expanding nationally, and it mailed its one-millionth book in 2003.
Parton’s home state of Tennessee committed to pursuing statewide availability the following year. Canada joined the program in 2006, followed by the United Kingdom in 2007, Australia in 2013 and the Republic of Ireland in 2019.
The Imagination Library now operates across five countries through shared funding from Parton and local community partners.
The Imagination Library grew at a pace few could have anticipated when the first books were mailed in Sevier County. By 2016, it was distributing one million books each month. The program celebrated its 100-millionth book in 2018 and reached 200 million books in 2023.
As of January 2025, the organization had gifted more than 267 million books, including over 3.2 million mailed during that month alone. More recent reporting estimates that the total had surpassed 330 million books by the time of Parton’s death.
The Country Legend Wanted Children To Dream Bigger
Parton’s involvement with the program extended beyond allowing the charity to use her name. She frequently appeared at Imagination Library events, read to children and celebrated its major milestones. She also used her visibility to encourage governments, businesses and community organizations to establish local partnerships.
The singer understood firsthand how imagination could take a child beyond their immediate surroundings. She grew up in a one-room cabin in the Tennessee mountains before becoming an internationally recognized songwriter, actress and businesswoman. Through the Imagination Library, Parton wanted other children to see that their circumstances did not have to determine the limits of their futures.
The Imagination Library Can Continue Without Its Founder
Although Parton remained the heart and public face of the Imagination Library, she built it within a structure designed to continue expanding. The program operates through The Dollywood Foundation, a nonprofit organization, and relies on thousands of local partners to fund and administer book distribution in participating communities.
Its international network already stretches across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and the Republic of Ireland.
