When you think of Dolly Parton, what comes to mind?
Her 190 music awards? Her 21 gold or platinum albums and singles? Her 100 million albums sold?
Her philanthropic arm, Imagination Library, that has gifted 254,519,967 books to children? That fact probably doesn’t readily come to mind.
How did Dolly Parton give away a quarter of a billion books? By partnering with local organizations such as Rotary Clubs from Chanhassen, Chaska, Waconia, Rotary District 5950, and our District 112’s Community Education Department.
Parton started Imagination Library in 1995 to provide books to children living near her home town in eastern Tennessee. It’s a fitting tribute to her father, who stressed the value of literacy even though he couldn’t read or write.
The Imagination Library is active in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia. The local partnership with Parton is called the SouthWest Metro Imagination Library.
The organization offers a free book, each month, to children up to 5 years of age living in Chanhassen, Chaska, Victoria and Carver.
Here’s a link where you can sign up a child for this program: https://imaginationlibrary.com/usa/affiliate/MNCARVER/
A tax-deductible donation of $25 sends one book per month for a year to a child in the area. Please mail your check to the Chanhassen Rotary Foundation, P.O. Box 1072, Chanhassen, MN 55317.
This project is fully funded through June 30, 2025. Your contributions can help organizers extend this program for four additional years.
The Chanhassen Rotary meets on Wednesdays at 7 a.m. at the Chanhassen Legion.
