Centre County United Way will join the Dollywood Foundation and Imagination Library communities around the world on Friday for a global day of giving honoring Dolly Parton’s legacy of inspiring children to develop a lifelong love of reading.
Give Like Dolly Day will also shine a spotlight on the local partners that make Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library possible. Parton, who died on Aug. 25 at the age of 80, founded the Imagination Library in honor of her father, who could not read, in 1995 to mail free books monthly to young children in her Tennessee county. The program expanded to an international initiative in the ensuing years.
CCUW administers the Imagination Library locally, providing free, age-appropriate books to more than 1,500 children from birth to age 5 in 28 of Centre County’s 35 municipalities. Providing the books, though, requires local financial support.
“In the days following Dolly’s passing, we received 132 new registrations from Centre County families,” Megan Evans, CCUW executive director, said. “It was both heartwarming and heartbreaking. We were thrilled to see so many families wanting to carry Dolly’s legacy forward through a love of reading, but without additional funding, we cannot immediately welcome every child into the program.”
Each book delivered costs CCUW $2.62, and the 132 new registrations add nearly $346 in additional costs every month, Evans said. At current enrollment, it takes at least $3,930 each month—or more than $47,000 annually—to sustain the program in Centre County.
With interest continuing to grow, additional support is needed to keep books arriving in the mailboxes of local children, according to CCUW.
“Give Like Dolly Day gives our community a meaningful opportunity to turn its love for Dolly into action and help ensure that every local child who wants to participate can receive the gift of books,” Evans said.
CCUW suggests community members can participate in Give Like Dolly Day by donating $9.25, $25 or another meaningful amount directly to the Centre County Imagination Library program.
They’re also encouraged to share Centre County United Way’s Give Like Dolly Day graphics, stories and donation link on social media using #GiveLikeDolly or #9to5DollyDay, and to celebrate Parton’s legacy by reading with a child, organizing a workplace giving challenge, hosting a read-aloud or creating another Dolly-inspired activity that supports early literacy.
Gifts to directly support the delivery of books to children in Centre County can be made at https://donate.imaginationlibrary.com/?country=US&affid=PACENTRECO.
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