Dolly Parton's commitment to literacy has lasting impact on Tri-State communities
Tributes continued to emerge following the death of musician, actress and philanthropist Dolly Parton, as organizations and communities reflected on the impact of her charitable work, including the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which provides free books to children around the world.
In New York City, local artists temporarily renamed the Fulton Street subway station the "Dolly Parton Street" subway station, while the IFC Center in Greenwich Village honored Parton on its marquee with the message, "IFC will always love you."
Parton's commitment to literacy has had a lasting impact on communities across the region.
In Verona, New Jersey, The Collective Literary Foundation, the nonprofit arm of The Collective Bookstore, recently received approval to participate in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program.
"In Verona is about a thousand kids, zero through birth through five. So our goal is to hit as we want to hit 100% fulfillment. We want every child in town to get a book," Josh Jacobs with The Collective Bookstore said.
The organization learned in April that its application to join the program had been accepted.
"Last year, on a summer family road trip to Tennessee, we ended up going to Dollywood. And my wife was more familiar with the foundation than I was. And as soon as we learned about it and how much our missions were aligned, about getting kids excited about reading kids into, you know, books into kids hands, we knew it was the right opportunity for us here at the bookstore," Jacobs said.
The mission took on added meaning following Parton's death Tuesday.
"We were just we were obviously saddened. We're, we're big fans personally. And with such a recent trip to, you know, to Dollywood and just being part of that and having such a great family experience, there is definitely, you know, we're definitely saddened. And we're also sad that we weren't able to launch officially and start sending books to kids homes," Jacobs said.
Jacobs said he expects the Verona program to launch within two weeks. The partnership would make the organization the fifth Imagination Library partner in New Jersey. There are five partners in Connecticut and 102 in New York state.
The New York State Office of Children and Family Services also recently became a partner with the Imagination Library, a role previously held by the New York State Library.
The scope of Parton's philanthropy is also familiar to the United Way of New York City. Through its 10-year partnership with the Imagination Library and Books From Birth program, the organization distributed a half-million books to more than 17,000 families.
As tributes continue, supporters say Parton's legacy lives on through programs that encourage childhood literacy and place books in the hands of young readers.
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