By Sheila G. Kelley, Development Coordinator
Earlier this month entertainer Dolly Parton was recognized for her philanthropy by receiving the 2022 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.
The medal is awarded to extraordinary individuals who have dedicated their private wealth to the public good. To be considered for the award, an individual’s philanthropy must have a “significant dimension and has been sustained over time” and have “had a significant impact internationally or on a particular field, nation or group of people.”
Almost 1,000 children in Harvey County are part of Dolly’s passion about literature. One of her numerous gifts to the world is the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program.
Dolly started her Imagination Library in 1995. No matter a family’s income, the program provides free books to any child from birth to age five. We at Harvey County United Way facilitate the program for county youth and pay the postage for HC youth to receive the incredible books.
It’s been almost 30 years since she first started her Library program. It’s now accessible in America, Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
In 2020, the Imagination Library was recognized for giving its 150 million free book.
Dolly’s inspiration for the program was her own father. He was forced to work to help support his family instead of attending school. Because of this, he struggled with reading and writing. According to Best Star News, Dolly didn’t want anyone else to feel the pain or judgement that her father sometimes felt. So, she launched the Imagination Library as a way to promote literacy in children from a very early age.
“My daddy just loved it when all the little kids would call me ‘The Book Lady.’ That meant more to him than the fact that I had become a star and worked my butt off,” Dolly once said.
With education being one of our three initiatives, getting children involved in this program is very important to our staff. We heavily promoted the program during the summer months while being present at numerous community events for families and youth.
Because of this promotion, we are pleased to say that our number of participants has grown by 30 children. Our annual cost to mail each child the book monthly is $26. If you would like to sponsor a child to receive the age-appropriate, fun and educational books, you can visit our website at harveyunitedway.org and look for the Donate tab.
Dolly has received many accolades during her illustrious career and receiving the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy confirms her generosity. We here in Harvey County are honored to be part of her vision to make the world a better place.
The United Way 