There are so many reasons to love Dolly Parton. Her music, her activism, her spunk. But perhaps the most lasting reason to love Dolly, for past and future generations, is her tireless work on behalf of her Imagination Library, which gives away free books to children. This week she donated her 100 millionth book at a special event at the U.S. Library of Congress. Think about it, 100 million books.
The issue of literacy has been one close to Dolly’s heart since childhood. She started the Imagination Library in 1995 to honor her father, the last Robert Lee Parton Sr., who never attended school or learned to read or write. But he was able to see his daughter become an international superstar and donate books to other children across the globe before his death in 2000.
Since then a whole new generation has gotten to know Dolly not as that singer with the oversized personality, and other stuff, but as simply “the book lady.”
In her signature self-deprecating way, she told The Washington Post:
“I never thought about being ‘the book lady.’ The painted lady, yes, the overexaggerated lady. That goes to show you can’t judge a book by its cover.... Of all the things I’ve done in my life — and it’s been a lot because I’ve been around — this is the most precious. Maybe we’ll be back for a billion.’”
When fires ravaged parts of Tenn in 2016, Dolly Parton gave $1k/month to every homeless family until they could get back on their feet. She has used her fame to spread a message of love/acceptance.
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) February 28, 2018
Today, she donated her 100 millionth book
Dolly Parton is an American treasure pic.twitter.com/Ad91pP1cgz
Yeah you will, Dolly, yeah you will. Happy weekend, all.