08/26/2026
September is Basic Education and Literacy Month in the Rotary calendar.
Dolly Parton must have been one of the most important supporters of literacy in the entire world.
The entertainer and philanthropist Dolly Parton died 25 August 2026. This Q&A was originally published in the March 2010 issue of The Rotarian (now Rotary) magazine (excerpts below). Later that year, she spoke at the Rotary International Convention in Montreal, Canada.
Parton’s impoverished childhood and her father’s illiteracy inspired the country music legend to launch a children’s book program in 1996. The Dollywood Foundation’s Imagination Library provides a new book every month to children from birth to age five, starting with The Little Engine That Could. To date, the program has delivered more than 23 million books to preschoolers in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. A year ago, Parton’s organization and Rotary International teamed up to further the effort, which costs US$28 per child annually. More than 140 Rotary clubs participate.
How has Rotary supported your work? Rotary has been a wonderful partner. It has helped us in all kinds of ways — getting the word out, funding the effort, and finding others to help fund it, and also registering lots of kids. It won’t be long till we are mailing to 600,000 kids a month.
What is your impression of the Rotarians you have met? I never really pay much attention to what people are; I focus on who they are. Everyone I have met has been warm, loving, caring — and pretty darn funny!
What do you envision for the future of the Imagination Library? My hope is simple: that no child will ever have to grow up without books. Our partnership with Rotary is just beginning, so I am sure as we grow closer, our dreams will grow.
