Local Dolly Parton's Imagination Library has supported 6,000 children in growing their reading skills

"We love our Dolly books!"  

Dolly Parton’s legacy in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County has grown far beyond her many fans who can sing her songs by heart. Here in the Valley, 6,000 preschool-aged  children, their siblings, caregivers, and extended family members have benefited from another of Dolly’s gifts to the world — her Imagination Library program.

“We’re saddened to learn of Dolly’s passing today and we mourn with all her fans the loss of this special woman. She has inspired us to share and grow a love of reading and books here in the Valley, and the Dollywood Foundation has been a wonderful partnership in our outreach to children and families,” said Revlan Hill, executive director of The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg and Rockingham (TCFHR).

Every Imagination Library program across the United States and in four other countries is managed by a local affiliate. TCFHR added the program to its initiatives in spring of 2022, supported by 65 businesses, foundations, and individual donors.

Parton's family has designated the Imagination Library program as a way fans and friends can pay tribute to the famous singer-songwriter. TCFHR has received nearly $2,000 in donations in the past few days. Give to support our local Imagination Library program.

The program now enrolls 3,585 children under the age of 5, with more than 2,500 “graduates,” or children who have aged out.

Approximately 48 percent of eligible children in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County are enrolled.

More than 145,800 books have arrived in local homes in the past four years.

TCFHR Board Chair Cynthia Prieto, a retired educator, is a strong supporter of the Imagination Library program. She praises Dolly Parton’s active advocacy of developing literacy skills in infants and toddlers. 

Parton was inspired to start the program in 1995 by her father’s inability to read and write. The first children to benefit were from her home county in Tennessee. 

“Dolly saw the need well before any educator,” Prieto said. “Kids come to school as 5-year-olds and we start teaching them, but Dolly recognized that they needed exposure to these concepts and these skills, and she wanted to see every child come into preK with a level playing field, and a fertile playing field. We talk about closing the gap, but Dolly didn’t want a gap to start with, and her advocacy with parents was huge.”

Children can enter the program at any time; the first book they receive is Dolly’s favorite, “The Little Engine That Could.” The books that follow each month are age-appropriate and focus on building literacy skills, including word and letter concepts, vocabulary growth, and concepts. The final book is always “Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come.”  

Prieto hopes the program will expand. “Let’s get to 90 percent of eligible kids, let’s get to 100 percent,” she said, adding that this effort will continue to celebrate Parton’s legacy. “I really loved and admired Dolly Parton as a human, as a woman, as a creator, as a philanthropist, and as an educator.”