OHIO — Gov. Mike DeWine declared Aug. 9 “Dolly Parton Day” in honor of the country music star and a literacy initiative that has branched throughout the Buckeye State.
Parton will make a stop in Columbus on Tuesday to celebrate the growth of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The program aims to encourage children to read more and improve literacy throughout the state.
It provides one free book every month to children enrolled from birth to 5-years-old.
Parton will take part in a private luncheon on the Ohio State University campus with first lady Fran DeWine. The event will also be livestreamed.
The program initially started out as the Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library in 2019 and had only been launched in a handful of counties. By November 2020, it became available in every county. In July 2022, it transitioned to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio and updated its logo. The transition “provided additional consistency, clarity and brand recognition allowing the nonprofit and affiliates to continue promoting the program and increasing enrollment,” according to its website.
More than 30,000 children are enrolled in the program, according to the website.
