It’s a great program. My son loves the books and I have to admit I look forward to taking him to the mailbox to check and see if one came. Many of the books are printed in a lower cost format specifically for the program. These editions have a back inside leaf that contains a blurb about the program and a picture of Dolly holding a book. My son knows her by sight and says “Thanks Dolly” when he sees her on that leaf.

I hate, hate, hate country music, but I have an enormous amount of respect for Dolly Parton. She's just a plain old good person, and also extremely savvy from a business and money point of view (while having to plough through patriarchal barriers both emotionally and financially): https://www.joshuakennon.com/dolly-parton/

She's able to do all this and still live comfortably and live her dreams. I wonder why more wealthy don't do things like this. It seems most just write a check to Charity X for the tax break and the ego boost.

The things Dolly does seem to lend themselves to legacy, and what could a rich man/woman want more than their name immortalized in a social program that helps people.

I like that its blind to anything else other than if the household has kids under 5 in it. Doesn't matter their ethnicity/color, gender, income, doc status, etc.

imo more government aid programs and charities should be like that. give to anyone in need or who would otherwise benefit from the given thing

unfortunately I've seen way too many special carve-outs and "allowed" discrimination to happen. which just further fuels political grievances.

I just looked up the cost to sponsor a smallish zip code in the US and it’s surprisingly inexpensive even if you’re not a millionaire or billionaire.

I was surprised to see Dolly Parton's initiative here in the UK. I just had my first newborn and the health visitors told me about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in one of our visits. Great stuff!

It is a wonderful program. I wish more billionaires were trying to leave a legacy where their name stands for something more admirable. Will anyone know who Zuckerberg is in 100 years? Probably not.

"UK PhD Research: Books Babies and Bonding - The impact of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library on parental engagement in book-sharing and on child development from 0-5 years old."

https://youtu.be/pKU5kqKypY4

Is there a way to find the list of books available in the Imagination Library?

This I learnt today about Dolly Parton! Very impressed with this work.