Thank You, Dolly: A Legacy of Literacy, Learning, and Leading With Heart

There are people who achieve incredible success, and then there are people who use that success to open doors for others. Dolly Parton is one of those people.

The world knows Dolly for her music, songwriting, unmistakable personality, and the trail she blazed for women in country music and beyond. She built an extraordinary career on her own terms, helped bring jobs and opportunity to her beloved East Tennessee through Dollywood, and continually invested in the community that raised her. But as an educator, one part of Dolly's legacy touches my heart most: her commitment to children, education, and literacy.

Dolly's passion for literacy is personal. Her father, Robert Lee Parton, could not read or write, although Dolly has often described him as one of the smartest people she knew. In 1995, she created Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in his honor. What began as a program for children in her home county in Tennessee has grown into an international literacy movement. The idea is beautifully simple: give children books.

Every month, enrolled children from birth to age five receive an age-appropriate book mailed directly to their homes at no cost to their families. A child enrolled from birth can receive as many as 60 books before kindergarten. Today, hundreds of millions of books have been gifted to children through the program.

Think about what those books represent. They are opportunities to sit together and read. To hear new words. To ask questions. To laugh over a silly story. To build vocabulary, background knowledge, imagination, and a love of books. Most importantly, they help children begin to see themselves as readers.

And Dolly's commitment to education extends beyond books. Through the Dollywood Foundation, she has supported scholarships and programs designed to encourage young people to stay in school and pursue their dreams. Again and again, she has taken what she earned and built opportunities for others.

I love that.

Because a book is an opportunity. Education is an opportunity. And having someone believe in you can be an opportunity that changes everything.

Dolly also reminds us of something I hope every child at My Learning Farm eventually discovers: your gifts don't have to look like anyone else's. Dolly certainly didn't build her life by trying to blend in. She dreamed big, worked incredibly hard, stayed connected to where she came from, and paved her own way. In doing so, she helped make the road wider for women and generations coming behind her.

That is the kind of success I want our children to understand. Success isn't only about what you accomplish. It is also about what you do with what you have been given.

So, Dolly, thank you.

Thank you for understanding that literacy can change the trajectory of a child's life. Thank you for putting books into millions of little hands. Thank you for investing in education and your community. Thank you for showing women that we can work hard, build something meaningful, lead with strength and kindness, and keep our hearts firmly planted in the communities we love.

Your mission feels especially close to my heart because, in my own little corner of the world at My Learning Farm, that is what I hope to do too: help children read, help them learn, help them discover their gifts, build their confidence, and remind them that they are capable of so much.

So I'll happily keep working 9 to 5—and probably a few hours on either side of that—to further the cause. ❤️📚

One reader at a time. One child at a time. One family at a time.

Helping children find their gifts, believe in themselves, and read their way into a world of possibilities.

Thank you, Dolly. 🌻📚❤️