Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
Dolly Parton\u2019s literacy program, Imagination Library, has provided nearly 800 children with free monthly books mailed to their homes in West Philadelphia<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Montgomery County<\/a>, around 3,500 children have been served in the Norristown<\/a> and Pottstown areas since 2023, thanks to Parton\u2019s program.<\/p>\n With the news on Tuesday of Parton\u2019s death, there was sadness among the affiliates of her global effort to promote a love of reading among children<\/a>, but they expected to continue the program and hopefully expand it in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t anticipate any changes to the program,\u201d said Jennifer Leith, executive director of the West Philadelphia Alliance for Children (WePAC).<\/p>\n Imagination Library, which Parton started in 1995 in Tennessee<\/a>, provides deeply discounted books that are mailed each month to any child in a given zip code whose parent or guardian applies to participate. Governments and nonprofits provide funding to cover the remaining costs of the program, which is available for children from birth to age five.<\/p>\n The Dollywood Foundation said in a recent fact sheet<\/a> that it has delivered more than 300 million books to children in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland.<\/p>\n WePAC started with one zip code<\/a>, 19104, in July 2024, then expanded to include four more zip codes in July 2025, Leith said.<\/p>\n \u201cIn that time, literally thousands of books have been delivered to West Philadelphia children,\u201d Leith said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnyone from any income level, from any background, can participate,\u201d said Eliza Brumbaugh, executive director of the Literacy Council of Norristown<\/a>, which helps to run the program, with assistance from the Justamere Foundation, in Montgomery County.<\/p>\n Brumbaugh and others would like to see the program expanded statewide in Pennsylvania, similar to what has been done in Delaware<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lawmakers have proposed legislation<\/a> in both the Pennsylvania Senate<\/a> and House to establish a statewide program similar to the Imagination Library.<\/p>\n Leith said \u201cit would be great\u201d if Mayor Cherelle L. Parker<\/a> or Gov. Josh Shapiro<\/a> \u201cdecided to do this in honor of Dolly Parton\u2019s legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n