Statement from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library

The Imagination Library began with a simple idea in the place Dolly always called home.

Inspired by her father, Dolly wanted to make sure that every young child in Sevier County, Tennessee, could have books of their very own, regardless of their family’s circumstances. She hoped those books would encourage children to love reading, dream more and believe that their own possibilities were bigger than they might imagine.

I don’t think any of us could have known just how far that simple idea would travel.

Today, in communities across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Australia, children open their mailboxes to find a book with their name on it because people in their own communities decided Dolly’s dream was worth sharing.

You are those people.

You raise the funds. You enroll the children. You introduce families to the Imagination Library. You build partnerships, attend community events, tell the story and do countless things — many of which we will probably never see — to make sure children in your community have books in their homes.

Dolly may have dreamed the Imagination Library, but all of you helped her build it.

And I want you to know today how much that meant to her — and how grateful all of us at The Dollywood Foundation are to you.

I also want to reassure you about something that I know will be on the minds of many of our partners and families today:

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library will continue.

We have prepared carefully for this day and for the future of the Imagination Library. Our organization is strong, our mission is clear, and our commitment to the children and families we serve has never been greater.

Dolly didn’t build the Imagination Library to last for her lifetime. She built it to last for theirs.

That is an important distinction, and one I hope we will all carry with us in the days and years ahead.

Dolly’s legacy will certainly live on through the songs she wrote, the characters she created and the joy she brought to millions of people. But I believe some of her most important legacy will live quietly in homes around the world — in the moments when a parent reads to a child, when a little hand turns a page, when a favorite story is requested one more time before bed, or when a child begins to believe that there is a bigger world waiting for them.

There will be much for all of us to process in the days ahead, and we will continue communicating with you as appropriate. For now, I hope you will take some time to remember Dolly and celebrate the remarkable life she lived.

And then, when the time is right, we will get back to work.

There are more children to reach. More books to send. More families to bring into this wonderful community Dolly created.

The greatest tribute we can give her is to keep it going — together.