WATERTOWN, S.D.(KXLG)- Communities across the globe are remembering Dolly Parton following her passing on Tuesday, August 25, at the age of 80. While she is widely remembered as a legendary music icon, her impact continues locally through her hallmark initiative: Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
First launched in 1995 to honor her father—who never learned to read or write—the program mails free, age-appropriate books directly to children from birth until age five.
The program took root locally in 2002 after South Dakota United Way leaders, including former Watertown Area United Way Executive Director Barry Wilfahrt, partnered with the Dollywood Foundation. That effort included a sold-out Dolly Parton concert in Sioux Falls to help bring the program statewide, the 1st state outside of Tennessee to do so.
As part of their effort to bring the program to the state, members of the Watertown Area United Way and the Watertown Area Community Foundation were able to meet with Parton prior to her concert in Sioux Falls. Jan DeBerg was the Executive Director of the Community Foundation at that time.
The Foundation provided a grant to the United Way to help get the program started. They also were able to hear about the program directly from Parton herself. DeBerg shares her thoughts on that meeting.
She says Parton had the desire to instill the love of reading into children at an early age.
Currently, 933 children in Codington County are enrolled in the program, and more than 4,500 local children have graduated since its local debut.
Said Lisa Dahl, Executive Director of the Watertown Area United Way. “Dolly Parton understood that giving a child a book is giving them so much more than a book. It is giving them an opportunity to imagine, to learn, to bond with the adults who read to them, and to begin building the foundation for a lifetime of learning.”
According to local survey results, 91% of participating parents report reading to their children daily, and 96% believe the program has better prepared their child for kindergarten.