Dolly Parton Gives Books To Refugee Children

Dolly Parton’s new project with Imagination Library offers a book each month to 200 refugee children in London until they turn five.

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Dolly Parton has teamed up with her Global Initiative, Imaginary Library, to offer refugee children the best gift with new books. According to The Guardian, the singer-songwriter will provide refugee children in London with a new book each month until they turn five. We couldn’t be more inspired by Dolly’s efforts to make literature more accessible for our young ones.

Imaginary Library Provides Free Children’s Books

Imaginary Library partners with publisher Penguin Random House and the charity Give a Book to offer books to 200 refugee children. Among these books are childhood classics and newfound favorites like Where is the Very Hungry Caterpillar? by Eric Carle, King Jack and the Dragon by Peter Bently, and Billy and the Dragon by Nadia Shireen via The Guardian. It’s nice to see one of our most beloved singers recognizing the importance of reading and doing something for the community.

Dolly Parton has always been passionate about books before even starting the global initiative. Dolly founded the Imaginary Library as a tribute to her father because he could not read. She believes that this inability kept him from pursuing or fulfilling all of his dreams. Her deep compassion for others like her father led her to make it her mission to inspire kids to fall in love with reading, or at least give them a chance to. She doesn’t want to see anyone miss out on their dreams.

IMAGE VIA DOLLY PARTON

We know Dolly has contributed to a lot of good in this world. Her step in leading an initiative focused on providing kids with free books has only made our love for her grow. Parton founded the Imaginary Library in 1995 to give a book a month to participating children until they turn five with no cost to the child’s family. You can sign up for this offer or donate by visiting their website and registering. This global organization has provided more than 618,000 books to children, in the last year, across the UK and Ireland alone. The Imaginary Library has provided free books to children all over the world. Dolly notes that it couldn’t be done without the support from local communities.

A Quote from Imaginary Library Founder

When I was growing up in the hills of East Tennessee, I knew my dreams would come true. I know there are children in your community with their own dreams. They dream of becoming a doctor or an inventor or a minister. Who knows, maybe there is a little girl whose dream is to be a writer and singer. The seeds of these dreams are often found in books and the seeds you help plant in your community can grow across the world.

Dolly Parton, Imagination Library

To experience the joy of reading should never be exclusive, and Dolly Parton has bridged the gap between reading and accessibility. We couldn’t be more inspired by her efforts to support families and their children in finding a new love for reading.

Looking to learn more about Dolly Parton’s effort in sharing the joy of reading? Keep reading here.

FEATURED IMAGE VIA THE LIST