As fans continue to grieve the death of country music icon and actress Dolly Parton, who died this week at the age of 80, her legacy in San Joaquin County continues to leave an impact on reading literacy.
In 1995, Parton started the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library as a way to benefit the children of her home county in East Tennessee, according to the Imagination Library website.
The program made its way to San Joaquin County, allowing anyone with a child under the age of 5 who lives in the county ZIP code to receive one free book a month.
Read to Me, Stockton!, a nonprofit organization of community agencies who have worked together to bring Parton’s library vision to life.
The nonprofit began in 2011 when community leaders, called together by former Mayor Ann Johnston, identified illiteracy as a major Stockton problem.
Read to Me, Stockton! took to social media Tuesday to voice their feelings about the passing of Parton.
“We are saddened to share that our beloved Dolly Parton has left us,” the Facebook post said. “Her legacy will live on through the songs that she wrote, the characters that she created and the joy she brought to millions of people.”
The nonprofit added, “The memories that Dolly created for families: moments when a parent reads to a child, or when a little hand turns a page, or when a child begins to believe that there is a bigger world waiting for them. We will miss you Dolly.”
According to the nonprofit, through the support of the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, Read to Me, Stockton! currently serves 15,750 children and has mailed more than 1.1 million books since October 2011.
The Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library also took to social media to share its mourning of the loss of Parton. Library officials shared a quote by the singer, “You can never get enough books into the hands of enough children.”
Since the founding of the Imagination Library millions of books have been placed into the hands of young children, library officials said.
“Thank you, Dolly, for helping generations of children discover the magic of books. May her incredible legacy shine on,” the post said.
On Parton’s official Facebook page, her family asked that in lieu of flowers donations be made to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library at www.imaginationlibrary.com.
Record reporter Victoria Franco covers public safety in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at vfranco@gannett.com. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Dolly Parton's legacy lives on in Stockton, San Joaquin County
