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How Dolly Parton changed young lives in Ireland
🇮🇪 Ireland /Culture & Society

How Dolly Parton changed young lives in Ireland

From RTÉ News · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • Dolly Parton's family has asked for donations to her Imagination Library literacy program in lieu of flowers following her death.
  • The program, founded over 30 years ago, provides free books to children from birth to age five.
  • Ireland was the fifth country to adopt the Imagination Library, with over 200,000 books gifted to Irish children by March 2022.

Following the passing of country music legend Dolly Parton at age 80, her family has requested that those wishing to honor her memory support one of her most cherished causes: the Imagination Library. This children's literacy program, which Parton founded more than three decades ago, continues to leave a significant legacy, particularly in Ireland.

Parton established the Imagination Library in her native Sevier County, Tennessee, in 1995. The inspiration stemmed from her father, Robert Lee Parton, who was unable to read or write. She recalled on "The Late Late Show" in 2022 how her father felt "crippled" by his inability to read, despite being one of the smartest people she knew. Parton involved her father in the project, noting that his pride in the program meant more to him than her fame.

He felt crippled by the fact that he couldn't read and write

— Dolly PartonRecalling her father's struggles with illiteracy in a 2022 interview.

What began as a local initiative has blossomed into an international program, distributing free, age-appropriate books monthly to children from birth up to age five. Ireland became the fifth country to embrace the program when it launched there in 2019. The initial Irish scheme, coordinated by the Childhood Development Initiative with support from An Post, Dublin Rotary Club, and Shamrock Rovers, began in Dublin 24. Parton herself encouraged parents to enroll their children, emphasizing the importance of books in nurturing dreams.

By March 2022, the Imagination Library had gifted over 200,000 books to preschool children across Ireland. Globally, as of June this year, the program distributes more than 3.5 million books monthly and has distributed over 325 million books in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland. Parton's philanthropic efforts also included significant donations to medical research, such as $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2020 for COVID-19 research, which supported early work on the Moderna vaccine.

You can never get enough books into the hands of young children

— Dolly PartonEncouraging parents in Ireland to sign up their children for the Imagination Library.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by RTÉ News. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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