Clayton County Imagination Library Honors Life and Legacy of Dolly Parton

Foundation to carry forward Dolly's lifelong mission of inspiring children, families and communities through generosity, opportunity and love

The Clayton County Imagination Library today  joins the Dollywood Foundation and millions of people around the world in mourning the passing of its beloved founder, Dolly Parton, and celebrating an extraordinary life defined not only by the music and joy she shared with the world, but by her deeply held belief in giving back.

"Dolly often said that she had been blessed far beyond anything she ever dreamed possible, and she believed deeply that those blessings came with a responsibility to give something back," said Jeff Conyers, President of The Dollywood Foundation. 

Perhaps nowhere is that commitment more evident than in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. Inspired by her father and his inability to read and write, Dolly launched the Imagination Library in 1995 with a simple but powerful idea: give young children in her home county books of their very own and inspire them to dream more, learn more, care more and be more.

Today, the Imagination Library reaches millions of children and families, delivering specially selected, age-appropriate books directly to children's homes at no cost to their families and creating opportunities for parents and children to experience the joy of reading together. More than 21,000 new books have been mailed to the homes of Clayton County children over the past four years through a local chapter of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, the Clayton County Imagination Library, hosted by the Clayton County Foundation for the Future.

The Dollywood Foundation believes one of the greatest ways to honor Dolly is not simply to remember what she accomplished, but to continue the work she loved — carrying it forward with the same generosity, humility, joy and love with which she began it.

To ensure that the Clayton County Imagination Library program continues to serve our youngest readers and their families for generations to come, the Clayton County Foundation for the Future has established the Clayton County Early Literacy Endowment. To make a gift, visit dbqfoundation.org/giving-center/clayton-county-early-literacy-endowment or mail a check to Clayton County Early Literacy Endowment c/o Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, 700 Locust St., Suite 195, Dubuque, IA 52001.

Parents and legal guardians can enroll their children or learn more at the Foundation's website, dbqfoundation.org/ccff. To request information, email CCFF Executive Director Emily Sadewasser at ccff@dbqfoundation.org.