Write For Us

WATCH: Dolly Parton on why she devoted her life to helping children read

Sponsored Post Vitamin D2 Canada Persia
174 Views

  • Thanks! Share it with your friends!

    You disliked this video. Thanks for the feedback!

ava
Published
A cornerstone of Dolly Parton's legacy has been her literacy outreach.

For a quarter century, her "Imagination Library" program has distributed free books to children around the world, from birth to age 5. The pop culture icon told the PBS NewsHour's Judy Woodruff that the initiative was inspired by her own father, who couldn't read and write.

She said she saw how illiteracy affected him emotionally, and "I wanted to do something to help him," she said. With the creation of the program, she said, "I felt like I was bringing honor to my dad."

To date, the organization has delivered more than 150 million books in five countries.

Parton also suggested a few children's books from the library to help kids stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic, including the first book the organization sends out to children who sign up: "The Little Engine That Could."

Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG
Find more from PBS NewsHour at https://www.pbs.org/newshour
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6

Follow us:
Facebook: http://www.pbs.org/newshour
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/newshour
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/newshour


Subscribe:
PBS NewsHour podcasts: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/podcasts
Newsletters: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/subscribe
Category
U.S. & Canada
Tags
Dolly Parton, Dolly Parton Imagination Library, Imagination Library
Sign in or sign up to post comments.
Be the first to comment