Julie Frentz
Goodyear PebbleCreek Rotary (GYPC) has partnered with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library since 2021. The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is a nonprofit started by Dolly Parton to provide books to children in their home. Dolly started this program in her home state of Tennessee to honor her father, who was not able to graduate from school because he had to work. The program is founded on the belief that having books at home helps children learn about reading at an early age. New research across five countries shows Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library significantly strengthens children’s early literacy skills and family reading habits. The research shows that the program closes literacy gaps, strengthens home literacy environments, and builds positive family reading habits. Three million children in five countries, the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and the Republic of Ireland, receive a new book every month. Over 332 million books have been gifted since the program’s inception over 30 years ago.
To date, GYPC Rotary has enrolled 3,230 children from Goodyear, Avondale, Tolleson, and Litchfield Park in the program, with a total of just under 75,000 books mailed to children ages birth to five. Once enrolled, children receive a book a month until they reach the age of five.
We were all saddened by the recent death of this talented performer and philanthropist. Many of us have seen Dolly perform and will cherish this memory forever. One way to honor Dolly and thank her for all she gave to us is to keep the things that were dear to her going and growing.
“I created the Imagination Library as a tribute to my Daddy. He was the smartest man I have ever known but I know in my heart his inability to read probably kept him from fulfilling all of his dreams. Inspiring kids to love to read became my mission.”
We invite you to join us in continuing Dolly’s legacy and honoring her memory as we continue this important community program. Donations can be made through our Rotary website, www.goodyearrotary.org, and clicking the Donate Button and the Dolly Parton Imagination Library link. A donation of $27 provides a book a month for a child for one year. We are currently enrolling children from the cities of Tolleson and Avondale. Additional donations will allow us to expand our enrollment to other areas.
As Dolly’s beautiful songs and lyrics remain so will the impact she is making on the world’s children.
Thank you for considering to donate to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library through Goodyear PebbleCreek Rotary. We also invite you to join us at our weekly meetings. We meet at 7 a.m. on Wednesday mornings in the Eagle’s Nest Clubhouse in PebbleCreek. We welcome visitors and fellow Rotarians to join us. Please see our website for meeting information or contact Julie Frentz at frentzjulie@yahoo.com.