CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The impact that the late country music star, philanthropist, and actress Dolly Parton had on West Virginia and the entire world is hard to measure.
Parton died Tuesday at 80 years old. Beyond her larger-than-life career as a singer-songwriter and movie star, the Tennessee native gave back to communities all around the world. Beginning in her rural hometown, she launched a program to provide books to young kids from birth until age 5 for free, regardless of socioeconomic status. More than three decades later, that program has exploded globally into Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
All 55 West Virginia counties have enrolled in the program. Dolly visited Charleston in August 2022 to celebrate the expansion of the Imagination Library to every community in the state. Globally, more than 300 million books have been delivered to children since the program’s inception in 1995.
Kanawha County native and country music star Kathy Mattea got to know Dolly through their 1993 collaboration on “Romeo.” The star-studded song also featured Mary Chapin Carpenter, Pam Tillis, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Tanya Tucker. Mattea said she was starstruck when she met Dolly.
Mattea noted that Dolly made impacts in so many different ways in her 80 years. Mattea said that one of her friends has eight kids, all of whom were enrolled in the Imagination Library. She said that’s just one example of Dolly’s generosity and character.
“She’s like, ‘oh yeah, every time I’d have another kid, the books would come in the mail’ for the kids from the reading Imagination Library,” Mattea said. “The reach of her vision she had, and the way she used her talents on what she chose to put into the world; there’s so many different facets to it.”
West Virginia is celebrating 20 years of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library this year. Jamie Lima is the state director for the library, which operates in conjunction with Marshall University’s June Harless Center for Rural Education Research and Development and the Dollywood Foundation.
Lima joined MetroNews “Midday” on Wednesday and highlighted the importance of the program.
“Essentially, children acquire a 60-volume home library, setting them up for school readiness, long-term academic achievement,” Lima said. “The family engagement piece, which is so important; that nurturing development that’s centered around books and reading that really inspires a lifelong love of books and reading.”
The studies show the numerous benefits of reading at an early age, Lima said. She noted that children are more likely to be read to at home because of the Imagination Library, they’re more likely to be able to count and identify images in books and ultimately become more Kindergarten-ready. Later in their development, Lima said, those results pay off in third-grade test scores and even graduation rates.
Lima said that six different books go out each month, based on the age of the child.
“A baby will receive a different book than a three-year-old,” Lima said. “They are all developmentally appropriate. Some of what happens behind the scenes with the Dollywood Foundation is they employ a blue-ribbon panel of literacy experts to thoughtfully select these books and build on the development that they need, all in preparation to start school.”
The program’s incredible impacts are not lost on state education officials. Kelly Griffith, West Virginia Department of Education academic support manager, said on MetroNews “Midday” Wednesday that reading comprehension is going up because of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
“It’s really something, what West Virginia’s achieved,” Griffith said. “All 55 counties are active in the Imagination Library program, so any child, from birth to age 5, it doesn’t matter what their family income is, the zip code of where they live. We were just fortunate that we were able to do this, of course with many partnerships across the state, too.”
Griffith said it’s the responsibility of the state to ensure that the youth begin to read. Especially with an early start, she said, the Imagination Library can instill a love of reading to children.
“One of the most important things that we can do, for our child and for our students, is to give them access and show them the importance of literacy and help them become successful readers,” Griffith said.
When Dolly visited Charleston in 2022, Griffith got the opportunity to meet someone who she’d looked up to her entire life. While the interaction was brief, Griffith said it was a meaningful moment.
“All I can say was, it’s probably exactly what you thought it would be,” Griffith said. “It was Dolly. It was genuine. It was her making a few jokes and then just the kindness, the light, that comes from her was exactly what we felt.”
Mattea called Dolly’s music “timeless,” resonating with members of every generation. She also praised the late icon for her willingness to always be herself and make anything fun. Above all, though, Mattea credited Dolly for never forgetting her rural upbringing.
“I suspect that, it sounds like she knew who she was and what she wanted to do from the time she was very, very young,” Mattea said. “Like it was always with her; it was her destiny. The fact that she took her Appalachian roots and influence with her all the way through it makes us all feel seen.”