Region A Partnership for Children Remembers Dolly Parton

And the Reading Legacy She Leaves Behind

Region A Partnership for Children joins families across western North Carolina, the state, and the world in mourning the loss of Dolly Parton, entertainer, philanthropist, and the founder of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.

"Dolly Parton gave our region something we will never stop being grateful for," said Janice M. Edgerton, Executive Director of Region A Partnership for Children. "Every month, children in our region open their mailbox and find a book waiting for them with their name on it. This program builds readers, it builds confidence, and it brings families together around a story. We are honored to have carried her vision into the mountains of North Carolina."

Dolly Parton will always be known for what she gave to music and to American culture. Additionally, she leaves behind a body of work in children's literacy that has shaped the lives of millions of families.

Imagination Library began in 1995, inspired by her father, who was unable to read or write, and by her conviction that every child should have books of their own and the chance to fall in love with reading. What started as a small effort in one Tennessee county became a program reaching our children in North Carolina and children around the world.

Through the partnership between Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, the Smart Start Network, and local organizations, families in all 100 North Carolina counties can enroll their children. Every month, from birth through age five, an age-appropriate book arrives in the mail at no cost, regardless of family income.

Since the program went statewide in 2017, close to 25 million books have made their way into the hands of North Carolina children. More than 240,000 children across the state receive a book each month.

Dolly Parton's vision took root in North Carolina because people here decided to fund it. The Smart Start network adopted Imagination Library as a core early literacy program and worked alongside state legislators to secure the funding that keeps these books free for families. That investment is what fills mailboxes in our own backyard. In western North Carolina, 6,784 children have received Imagination Library books from enrollment through their fifth birthday, and Smart Start currently mails books each month to 2,890 children in our far western counties.

The numbers behind the program tell a story of their own. In the 2024-25 fiscal year, nearly 17,000 North Carolina families completed the program's annual survey, representing over 37,350 children. Of those families, 43.3% said they would not be able to buy the same number of books on their own.

Families also reported real change in their reading habits. Before enrolling, 44% of parents said they read to their child every day. After participating, that number rose to 67%. Those gains held steady across every education level, which speaks to how well the program works at getting books off the shelf and into a family's daily routine.

That commitment to early literacy is at the heart of what Smart Start partnerships do across the state, and it is central to the work we do here in western North Carolina. Reading with a child early and often is one of the most reliable ways to prepare them for school and for everything that comes after.

As our region grieves, we are holding onto gratitude for what Dolly Parton believed and what she built. The best way to honor her is to keep going, to keep putting books into small hands, and to make sure the children coming up behind us know the same joy she wanted for every child.

Her legacy is alive in every mailbox, every bedtime story, and every child in our mountains who discovers that reading belongs to them.

About Region A Partnership for Children

Region A Partnership for Children improves the quality of life for young children and families in western North Carolina by fostering healthy family systems, promoting inclusion, and building resilient communities. We serve the seven westernmost counties of North Carolina and the Qualla Boundary. Learn more at rapc.org.

About Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library mails one free, age-appropriate book each month to enrolled children from birth to age five, at no cost to families and regardless of income. Through a partnership between Imagination Library, the Smart Start Network, and local community partners, children in all 100 North Carolina counties have access to the program. To check eligibility or enroll a child in our region, visit rapc.org/dpil.

For more information, contact RAPC Executive Director Janice M. Edgerton at jedgerton@rapc.org