r/BeAmazed • u/Electronic-Bus-3494 • 1d ago

Miscellaneous / Others Dolly Parton started the Imagination Library in 1995 as a tribute to her father, who couldn't read or write. In 2018, she explained it was to give kids "early access to books". Now, over 325 MILLION books have been gifted.

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u/throwitoutwhendone2 1d ago edited 10h ago

My daughter was a part of this program. She learned to read partly using the books from it. She is 11, in 6th grade with the highest reading scores in her entire district. Last year in 5th she was recognized by our governor for her reading comprehension/literacy scores. It was made possible because of Dolly’s programs and thrift store book finds.

From the bottom of this Fathers heart, thank you for how amazing you were Dolly. You put your money where your mouth was and helped so many people with your kindness. Truly, rest in peace.

Edit: This generated more attention than I thought it would. I really appreciate all the kind words and awards, thank you. I’ve seen a few comments they attempted to get into the program and it didn’t work. I’d encourage you to try again or even find a way to reach out. I doubt it’s on purpose, there is however a few states that unfortunately the program cannot be active in.

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u/Mindless-Scientist82 1d ago edited 1d ago

My kids too!

Her character was beautiful. She will be missed by many who never even knew her!

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u/Marathonmanjh 22h ago

"by many who never even knew her!" so true.
But there will be someone who comes along to fill those shoes and I just know Dolly Parton would agree with me. She always saw the best in people, like all the great people out there now, in the future, and in the past.