Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has declared August 9 as “Dolly Parton Day” in honor of the country legend’s visit and the expansion of her non-profit Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library throughout the entire state.
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Parton made a stop in Columbus, Ohio, to help promote her non-profit Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Ohio, a program that supports reading to young children and ships free books to kids, aged from newborn through 5 years old. The country legend was also celebrating the expansion of the reading program within the state thanks to the financial support of the Ohio General Assembly and other affiliates. Imagination Library is now available to families in all 88 counties in Ohio with more than 327,000 children enrolled in the program.
Founded in 2019, the Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library was initially only available in several counties and became a statewide program by November 2020. All kids between birth and age 5, regardless of where they live in Ohio, are eligible to be enrolled in the Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library.
“I was visiting my daughter and grandchildren and got to see their Imagination Library books arrive in the mail,” said Mrs. DeWine in a statement. “The kids were so excited, immediately saying, ‘Grandma, read me the book. Read me the book.’ That introduced me to the program, which at the time, was only in a few Ohio counties.”
DeWine added, “I was so taken with the program, and I thought, if we can do this in Greene County, then we can do it in other places across the state, too. I want every child in Ohio to have access to these books and to have the advantages literacy brings.”
Of Imagination Library, which she founded in 1995, Parton said “Before he passed away, my daddy told me the Imagination Library was probably the most important thing I had ever done. I can’t tell you how much that meant to me because I created the Imagination Library as a tribute to my daddy. He was the smartest man I have ever known but I know in my heart his inability to read probably kept him from fulfilling all of his dreams.”
Parton added, “Inspiring kids to love to read became my mission.”
Photo Credit: Will Russell/Getty Images
