{"id":2332055,"date":"2024-08-27T19:08:58","date_gmt":"2024-08-27T23:08:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dolly-parton-is-sending-free-books-to-children\/"},"modified":"2024-08-27T19:12:06","modified_gmt":"2024-08-27T23:12:06","slug":"dolly-parton-is-sending-free-books-to-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dolly-parton-is-sending-free-books-to-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Dolly Parton is Sending Free Books to Children"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdolly-parton-is-sending-free-books-to-children%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2332055&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Dolly Parton,\u200b a\u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dolly-parton-said-she-modeled-her-signature-look-after-the-town-tramp\/\" title=\"Dolly Parton Said She Modeled Her Signature Look After The \u2018Town Tramp\u2019\">country music legend<\/a>, is\u200c dedicated to improving \u2064literacy through her Imagination\u200b Library\u200c book giveaway program, \u200dinspired \u2062by her father&#8217;s challenging \u2062upbringing. Her \u2063father, who\u200d could not\u2064 read, \u2064grew up in poverty in the \u2063Appalachian Mountains \u2064and was one of 12 children. Dolly launched the\u2064 program in 1995, starting in Tennessee, and it has since expanded\u200c to 21 states, with over 3 million \u2062books sent out monthly to children under five. \u2064During recent\u2063 visits to Missouri and Kentucky, Parton shared her father&#8217;s\u200b story \u2062and emphasized the importance of education. Missouri provides full\u2062 funding for the program, which costs around $11 million annually, while other states \u200dcontribute through a cost-sharing model. Parton hopes to expand the program\u200d to every state and\u2064 expressed pride in honoring her \u2062father through this initiative. She is also an author\u2063 and reflects on her experiences, including\u200d the impact of her song &#8220;Coat of Many Colors,&#8221; which\u200d resonated with many regarding feelings of shame and acceptance.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> <script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Dolly Parton&rsquo;s father grew up poor and never got the chance to learn to read.<\/p>\n<p>Inspired by her upbringing, the 78-year-old country music legend has made it her mission over the past three decades to improve literacy through her Imagination Library book giveaway program. Recently, it has expanded statewide in places like Missouri and Kentucky, two of 21 states where all children under the age of 5 can enroll to have books mailed to their homes monthly.<\/p>\n<p>To celebrate, she made stops Tuesday in both states to promote the program and tell the story of her father, Robert Lee Parton, who died in 2000.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In the mountains, a lot of people never had a chance to go to school because they had to work on the farms,&rdquo; she said at the Folly Theater in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/brutal-news-kansas-city-employee-doxed-harrison-butker-mayors-final-word-ends-career\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kansas City<\/a>, Missouri. &ldquo;They had to do whatever it took to keep the rest of the family going.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Parton, the fourth of 12 children from a poor Appalachian family, said her father was &ldquo;one of the smartest people I&rsquo;ve ever known,&rdquo; but he was embarrassed that he could not read.<\/p>\n<p>  <script> \t\t\t\tif( ! getCookie( 'ff_subbed' ) ) if( typeof FFADS.replace_ict !='undefined' ) if( FFADS.replace_ict ) eval( FFADS.replace_ict ); \t\t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>And so she decided to help other kids, initially rolling out the program in a single county in her home state of Tennessee in 1995. It spread quickly from there, and today over 3 million books are sent out each month. Since the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/vatican-walks-back-decree-about-firing-staff-who-refuse-vaccine\/\" title=\"Vatican Walks Back Decree About Firing Staff Who Refuse Vaccine\">program started<\/a>, books have been sent to more than 240 million to kids in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia.<\/p>\n<p>Missouri covers the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-commerce-secretary-claims-no-shred-of-evidence-that-trump-tax-cuts-increased-growth-and-productivity\/\" title=\"Biden\u2019s Commerce Secretary Claims No \u2018Shred Of Evidence\u2019 That Trump Tax Cuts \u2018Increased Growth And Productivity\u2019\">full cost<\/a> of the program, which totaled $11 million in the latest fiscal year. Most of the other states chip in money through a cost-sharing model.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The kids started calling me the &lsquo;book lady,&rsquo;&rdquo; Parton said. &ldquo;And Daddy was more proud of that than he was that I was a star. But Daddy got to feeling like he had really done some great as well.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Parton, who earned the Grammy Lifetime <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/students-oppose-trump-nobel-prize\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Achievement Award<\/a> a decade ago, said she eventually wants to see the program in every state. She said she is proud that her dad lived long enough to see the program get off the ground.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That was kind of my way to honor my dad, because the Bible says to honor your father and mother,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;And I don&rsquo;t think that just means, &lsquo;just obey.&rsquo; I think it means to bring honor to their name and to them.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Parton is an author herself whose titles include the 1996 children&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/teddy-roosevelts-stolen-watch-returned-to-82-year-old-great-grandson-after-discovery\/\" title=\"Teddy Roosevelt&#039;s Stolen Watch Returned to 82-Year-Old Great-Grandson After Discovery\">book &#038;ldquo<\/a>;Coat of Many Colors,&rdquo; which is part of the book giveaway program.<\/p>\n<p>As she prepared to sing her famous song by the same name, she explained that it is about a coat her mother made her from a patchwork of mismatched fabric, since the family was too poor to afford a large piece of a single fabric. Parton was proud of it because her mother likened it to the multicolored coat that is told about in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/bible-discovery-researchers-find-small-relic-previously-unknown-depiction-jesus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bible<\/a> &mdash; a fantastic gift from Jacob to his son Joseph.<\/p>\n<p>Classmates, however, laughed at her. For years, she said the experience was a &ldquo;deep, deep hurt.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>She said that with writing and performing the song, &ldquo;the hurt just left me.&rdquo; She received letters over the years from people saying it did the same thing for them.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The fact,&rdquo; she explained, &ldquo;that that little song has just meant so much not only to me, but to so many other people for so many different reasons, makes it my favorite song.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: italic;\">The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\">  <\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> <label>* Name<\/label> <br \/> <input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> <\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> <label>* <\/label> <br \/> <input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> <\/div>\n<p> <label>* Message<\/label> <br \/> <textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea>  <\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> <input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\">  <\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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Motivated by her own experiences, the 78-year-old country music icon has dedicated the last thirty years to enhancing literacy through her Imagination Library book distribution initiative. This program has recently expanded across entire states, including Missouri and Kentucky, among 21 states where all children under five can sign up to receive monthly books delivered to their homes. To commemorate this expansion, she visited both states on Tuesday to promote the initiative and share stories about her father, Robert Lee Parton, who passed away in 2000. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt that time in the mountains, many people couldn\u2019t attend school because they had to work on farms,\u201d she remarked at Kansas City\u2019s Folly Theater. \u201cThey did whatever was necessary to support their families.\u201d As one of twelve children from a struggling Appalachian family, Parton described her father as \u201cone of the smartest individuals I\u2019ve ever known,\u201d despite his embarrassment over being illiterate.<\/p>\n<p>Determined to assist other children, she launched the program in a single county in Tennessee back in 1995. It quickly grew from there; today it distributes over three million books each month. Since its inception, more than 240 million books have been sent out across the U.S., Canada, the UK, Ireland, and Australia. In Missouri alone, state funding covered $11 million for this program during its most recent fiscal year; other participating states contribute through a cost-sharing model.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe kids began calling me \u2018the book lady,\u2019\u201d Parton shared. \u201cAnd my dad took more pride in that than he did about my fame as an artist.\u201d She expressed satisfaction that her father lived long enough to witness this initiative flourish: \u201cThat was my way of honoring him because I believe we should honor our parents not just by obeying them but also by bringing respect and recognition to their names.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Parton is also an author; one of her works is &#8220;Coat of Many Colors,&#8221; a children&#8217;s book published in 1996 that is included in her giveaway program. As she prepared to perform a song with the same title\u2014about a coat made from various fabric scraps due to financial constraints\u2014she reflected on how proud it made her feel since it resembled Joseph&#8217;s multicolored coat from biblical tales.<\/p>\n<p>However, classmates mocked her for wearing it which caused deep emotional pain for years until writing and performing that song helped alleviate some of those feelings: \u201cThe hurt just left me.\u201d Over time she received letters from others who found solace through it as well: \u201cThe fact that this little song has resonated with so many people for various reasons makes it my favorite.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This Associated Press story has been reviewed by The Western Journal and may have undergone modifications before publication for editorial compliance<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2332056,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/f51e17181ec1484c83eacae3133881e7-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[6543,39471,39469,5152,39470],"class_list":["post-2332055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-charity","tag-childrens-literacy","tag-dolly-parton","tag-education","tag-free-books"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/f51e17181ec1484c83eacae3133881e7-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2332055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2332055"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2332055\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2332056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2332055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2332055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2332055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}