Pirates Voyage, along with Dixie Stampede, donated to Dolly's Imagination Library.
“This is an investment in the future,”
says Larry McCoy, Director of Marketing at Pirates Voyage.
“With this donation we help build a community of strong readers, who will grow up to be strong leaders.”
Dolly shares the gift of reading with children through her book gifting program that delivers free books to kids from the day they are born until they turn five years old.
In 2010, racing across borders and gaining speed, "The Little Engine That Could," was chug chug chugging along, while the actual book itself arrived in mailboxes, much to the delight of 249,125 children under five. With over 1,300 operating programs in three countries, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library was mailing 560,000 books a month, a grand total of 7.1 million this particular year.
In July, The Junior League of Birmingham, and Dolly herself presented the 25 millionth book to Kumar Smith.
"It was beautiful,"
mother Shalisha Stewart said of her family's experience.
"She sang Kumar a song, 'Celebrate the Dreamer in You.' She wrote it for him. He was like, 'She wrote me a song?' And I told him that he was the hero of the day."
Knox County Schools in Tennessee completed the year-long study of their new kindergartners, and in Michigan, the Great Start Collaborative commissioned a study by Michigan State University on the same age group. Children enrolled in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library performed better on all assessments than children who were not enrolled. In addition, the University of Alaska Anchorage researchers, completed evaluation studies of Imagination Library demonstrating that children participating in the program are more enthusiastic about reading, read to more often, and perceived by parents to be better prepared for school. While the books are free to families, the lasting impact of the program is priceless.
A Canadian documentary called 'The Book Lady,' was released and later added to Air Canada’s in-flight movie rotation. The film was invited to the Cleveland International Film Festival and the 40th Nashville Film Festival. (more…)
After Canadian families began receiving books each month in 2006, the global expansion of Dolly’s Imagination Library continued in England in 2007. One of the goals of the popular book gifting organization is to create a love of reading in all kids all over the world, as a result, The Dollywood Foundation of the United Kingdom was launched and the Imagination Library was made available to new families in Britain.
Penguin Books UK was named the exclusive publisher for the collection, the Royal Mail was used for monthly deliveries, and a wonderful panel of experts gathered to choose the best selection of book titles.
Dolly’s Imagination Playhouse, featuring the Penguin Players, brings many of the classic children's books from her Imagination Library to life. The first production was of "The Little Engine that Could," Dolly’s personal favorite and the first book mailed to children in the program. (more…)
