​Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library began with something deeply personal: her father.

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Dolly has often spoken about how much her father meant to her and how intelligent she believed he was, even though he never had the opportunity to learn to read or write. His experience stayed with her throughout her life and became the inspiration for creating the Imagination Library in 1995.

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She wanted children to grow up with something her father never had — access to books from the very beginning.

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The program started in Dolly’s home county in East Tennessee with a simple idea: every child, regardless of family income, should have books of their own and the opportunity to develop a love of reading before they ever walk into a classroom.

What began as a tribute to her father has grown into a worldwide early literacy movement.

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Today, United Way of South Central Illinois is proud to help carry that vision into homes throughout Jefferson, Marion, Washington and Clinton counties through our partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and Regional Office of Education #13.

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Children from birth through age five receive a free, high-quality, age-appropriate book every month, mailed directly to their home and addressed to them personally.

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That monthly book is about much more than reading.

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It creates opportunities for parents, grandparents and caregivers to spend time together. It introduces children to new words, ideas, places and possibilities. It helps strengthen vocabulary, language and listening skills, encourages imagination and curiosity, and helps children build the foundation they need to be ready for school.

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And perhaps most importantly, it helps children discover that books belong to them.

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Since 2014, nearly 200,000 books have been delivered to children in our region, and more than 2,300 local children are currently enrolled across the four counties.

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Every book that arrives in a mailbox continues the idea Dolly began with decades ago: a child’s circumstances should never determine whether they have the opportunity to learn, imagine and dream.

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Help Us Keep the Books Coming

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The Imagination Library is completely free to participating families, but the program is made possible locally through community support.

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A gift of just $16 helps provide an entire year of books for one child in our region.

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When you support Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, you are helping create home libraries, family traditions and stronger beginnings for children across South Central Illinois — one book at a time.