Dollywood Foundation

The Imagination Library is a free children's book gifting program started by Dolly Parton in 1995. It is based at her Dollywood theme park near Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The program started by offering every child in Sevier County, Tennessee, the area where Parton was born and raised, a free age-appropriate book each month in the mail until the age of five, regardless of family income. In 2000, the Imagination Library became so popular that Dolly announced that she wanted to make the program available to any community that would partner with her and support it locally. The program has since expanded to over 1,800 local communities in the US, Canada, Australia, Ireland and the United Kingdom. == My People Fund ==

In November 2016, two teenage boys were charged with setting a fire in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, known as the 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires, which killed fourteen people, including two children, and burned down thousands of homes and businesses. Charges against the two juvenile suspects were later dropped due to insufficient evidence. Dolly gathered her Dollywood companies (Dolly Parton’s Stampede, Dolly Parton’s Lumberjack Adventure, Pirates Voyage, The Dollywood Company) and to establish the ‘My People Fund’ which ultimately donated $1,000 per month to Sevier County households who lost their homes in the fire. Those collecting charitable donations from the Dollywood Foundation could collect their funds for up to six months. Significant donors to the fund include Verizon, Tanger Outlets, Miley Cyrus’ Happy Hippie Foundation, CoreCivic and The Blalock Company. The My People Fund raised over $9 million and assisted more than 900 families. == Scholarships and awards ==

Having graduated from Sevier County High School in 1964, Dolly Parton launched The Dollywood Foundation in 1988 with the initial intention of raising scholarship funds for local high school students. The Dolly Parton Scholarship was first offered in August 2000. The scholarship would grant a total of $15,000 to four students. With further sponsorship, the scholarship was later offered to four additional high schools including Seymour, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg-Pittman. When the Imagination Library reached its 100-million total book distribution mark, Dolly Parton announced she would be awarding a scholarship to a participant in the library’s program. In November 2016, Parton granted a $30,000 scholarship to a two-year-old girl, one of the library’s newest participants. The little girl was announced as the winner during the Pure & Simple Tour stop in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The money was placed in an account that will hold the money until the girl enrolls in college. The scholarship, after the 16-year wait, will amount to nearly $50,000. The Chasing Rainbows Award was created by the National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) in Parton's name. First presented to Dolly in 2002, the award is now given annually to a deserving teacher who has overcome hardship. The Imagination Library has since partnered with the NNSTOY. == Results ==

By 2006 the Dollywood Foundation’s Imagination Library had spread to 471 communities in 41 states. The overall rating of the organization was given 4 out of 4 stars by Charity Navigator. The foundation later spread to the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Australia and Canada. The program helps about 1 million children each month. It is broken down into 6 groups that give recommendations on books depending on when the child was born. ==References==