Hickory – As our community joins people around the world in mourning the loss of Dolly Parton, the Catawba County Partnership for Children is reflecting on the deep and lasting impact of her commitment to early literacy.

Since April 2011, the Catawba County Partnership for Children has served as the local program affiliate for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Through this partnership, local children from birth to age 5 receive a new, age-appropriate book in the mail every month, completely free to their families.

Dolly created the Imagination Library in 1995, inspired by her father, who could not read or write. What began as a personal effort to support children in her home county grew into a global program that has brought the joy of reading to millions.

Since the local program began in April 2011, the local community impact includes:

  • 868,784 total books mailed to children in Catawba County.
  • 17,961 local children who have graduated from the program.
  • Over 5,500 children currently enrolled in Catawba County and receiving books each month.

The true value of the program lives quietly in local homes, when a parent reads to a child and when families build critical early literacy skills before children ever enter a classroom.

As the Dollywood Foundation recently reminded its partners, Dolly didn’t build the Imagination Library to last for her lifetime; she built it to last for the lifetimes of the children she served. The Catawba County Partnership for Children is honored to carry that exact vision forward. Our commitment to local families remains unchanged, and our work will continue without interruption.

We are deeply grateful to the local families, businesses, organizations, and community partners who have sustained this program for over a decade. The greatest tribute we can give Dolly is to keep her dream moving forward. There are still more children to reach, more books to share, and more families to support.

Local businesses and organizations interested in partnering to support the program are invited to contact the Catawba County Partnership for Children. For community members who wish to honor Dolly’s legacy locally, donations made through the Catawba County Partnership for Children directly fund books for children living right here in Catawba County.

More information on how to support or enroll a child is available at www.catawbakids.org or by calling the Catawba County Partnership for Children at 828-695-6505.