Well, another year has rolled around and what a year it has been. Like everyone else, it is now my turn for a COVID covered birthday. So what do you do? What do you want? Should you even celebrate?
I am choosing the quiet path so I can stay close to the ones I love to count my blessings and think hard about what this new year will bring.
However, I do have a birthday wish that I want to share with you. My wish is that everyone does something a little different today. Let's call it a call for kindness. If you want to donate to your favorite cause, then donate. If you want to give an old friend a call during these lonely times, give them a call. If you can safely volunteer, then raise your hand to do so. If you decide that today is the day you get a dog, then run down to the shelter and find your new buddy. The choices are limitless.
I always encourage people to dream big but I also take great care to follow that up with the message to work hard. We can't just hope for a brighter day, we have to work for a brighter day. Love too often gets buried in a world of hurt and fear. We have to work to dig it out so we can share it with our family, our friends and our neighbors. So today, January 19th, let's get to unearthing love. Love is more contagious than a virus so let your best self shine in a glorious light and others will be inspired by you.
This is my birthday wish and may your birthday wishes also come true.
It’s Christmas and Dolly is sharing a few of her favorite childhood memories. She recalls the excitement in their home when it came time to get and decorate a tree. This tender memory comes to life within the lyrics of “Comin’ Home For Christmas.” The handmade ornaments and tinfoil star were some of the most treasured in those days, mainly because of the special care and love her mother put into the preparations. Dolly said,
“In those early days, we didn’t even have electricity so we didn’t have electric lights for it. Mama was always great with making things out of colored paper or different rags that she would tie. We could make bows out of colored rags...Mama always made everything special.”
Dolly shares this memory and more in her Christmas message. She also adds a last-minute holiday message for Jolene.
Dolly Parton and beauty industry supergroup Edge Beauty, Inc. have inked a long-term license agreement for the creation, development, and distribution of the iconic entertainment superstar’s signature fragrance, in a deal brokered by IMG.
The fragrances will be inspired by Dolly’s own signature scent, with the first collection set to launch in Spring 2021.
“Fragrance has always played a major role in my life – I wear my own combination of scents every day,” said Dolly Parton. “I am so excited to share this dream with my fans. Developing my own brand and scent with Edge Beauty has been an amazing experience, and I am looking forward to becoming a big part of the fragrance community.”
“We are thrilled to share a new facet of Dolly’s personality with her millions of fans and admirers. She strikes a universal chord that resonates globally in the hearts of people across all age groups and many cultures,” noted Steve Mormoris, CEO of Edge Beauty, Inc. “The Dolly Parton franchise will be a powerhouse pillar for Edge Beauty and we are delighted to build Dolly’s brand.”
Gary Krakower, Vice President of Licensing at IMG – Dolly’s exclusive global licensing representative – added:
“Dolly has always been passionate about fragrances and creating her own signature scent, so it was top of our list and we are confident we have found the perfect partner in Edge Beauty. Unsurprisingly, since we started working with Dolly to create her first branded lifestyle products, the response from both fans and the industry has been huge, so watch this space as there’s a lot more to come!”
Additional details of the new fragrance line will be revealed soon. Visit Dolly Parton’s Friends & Fans to subscribe to all things Dolly!
Often in life, people face seemingly insurmountable challenges and for some their response to those challenges creates opportunities for greatness. In some cases, this transition can be immediate and in others, it can simmer for years.
In 1995, already an icon of American pop culture and an international success, Dolly Parton launched her Imagination Library. Today, it's a global book gifting organization that has gifted nearly 150 million free books to children around the world. On many occasions, Dolly has shared her inspiration for the program. She said,
"When I started the Imagination Library, it was to honor my Daddy. My Daddy was so smart but he felt crippled with the fact that he couldn't read and write."
True, the concept was born in the mid-1990s, but in Dolly's mind, the program actually sprang from a seed planted many, many years earlier. To fully understand the birth of the Imagination Library, we must first look at the life and childhood of Robert Lee Parton, Dolly's father.
Many today know Robert Lee as played by Ricky Schroder in the popular NBC movies Coat of Many Colors and Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love. The real Robert Lee was born in March of 1921. The son of Walter and Bessie Parton, Robert Lee grew up in what was then a typical way with farm work being a big part of his childhood. For Robert Lee, and many children raised by farmers and sharecroppers, circumstances required them to abandon school and labor to help feed their families. It wasn't seen so much as a choice but a duty.
Unfortunately, for Dolly's father, this way of life meant that he didn't get the chance to learn to read and write. Of course, he supplemented these skills by becoming a knowledgeable farmer, shrewd deal maker and skilled tradesman. He may have raised his family with humble means but he instilled a wealth of love and knowledge in each of his children. Still, he would carry the weight of illiteracy for much of his life. That is until Dolly made it her mission to set the wrong, right. Dolly said,
"When I got this idea to do the Imagination Library I wanted to get Daddy involved in it. I wanted him to help me with that so he could take the pride in that and so he did. He got to live long enough to hear the kids call me the Book Lady."
Dolly doesn't just credit her father's disadvantage with being the inspiration for her Imagination Library, she sees it as his divine calling. If life was determined to keep him from learning to read as a child, Dolly believes God was just as determined to create something amazing because of it. Dolly said,
"I kept telling him, everybody has a different purpose in life and if nothing else maybe this is why you couldn't read and write. Maybe God knew a long time ago that I was going to do something that would help millions of kids and people that couldn't read and write. So I tried to give him that pride."
In 2000, Robert Lee Parton departed this world knowing his daughter had made a difference in the lives and hearts of many children through the books gifted by her Imagination Library. At that time, the program was in the infant stages of a national replication effort that would expand its reach beyond Sevier County, Tennessee. Today, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library has gifted nearly 150 million books to children in five countries. In 2018, Dolly Parton, the daughter of Robert Lee Parton - a humble farmer who never had the chance to learn to read and write - dedicated the 100th million book, which she authored herself, to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Indeed, an incredible way to honor her father.
The Imagination Library's full story will play out in a new documentary called The Library That Dolly Built, premiering exclusively on Facebook on December 9, 2020, at 7 PM Eastern.
When Dolly Parton launched her Imagination Library near her home in Sevier County, Tennessee, she dreamed of creating a program to inspire children to love reading and books. Along with her team at the Dollywood Foundation, she designed a way to make each book special for each child. Also, she was determined to offer this program to all children regardless of the family's income. High standards for book quality and content was another feature developed in the early stages. With these guidelines, Dolly established the building blocks of the Imagination Library.
Today, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is the subject of a new feature-length documentary called, The Library That Dolly Built. It will make its worldwide premiere on Dec. 9, at 7 PM EST, exclusively on Facebook. Just like the program itself, the film has been years in the making. And now, finally, the complete story will be told including many of the stories of the people who share Dolly's dream and...try each day.
"I think people are going to be real interested in seeing how it started, why it started and all these wonderful people all over the world that have gotten so involved in it to make it really what it is." --Dolly Parton
It began in 1995 and since then has gifted nearly 150 million free books to children around the world. Today Dolly Parton's Imagination Library operates in all 50 US states. It's well established in Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. Most recently, the program began in the Republic of Ireland. In speaking about the impact of this documentary David Dotson, Chief Executive Officer of The Dollywood Foundation said,
"I think people know the Imagination Library but they never, never seem to fully understand how big it is."
This unique book gifting organization is made possible by thousands of people around the world who live out the lyrics of Dolly's inspirational song and the anthem of the Imagination Library, "Try."
"So try to be the first one up the mountain
And try to be the first to touch the sky
And try to be one that makes a difference
Try to put your fear and doubt aside
And try to make the most of every moment
'Cause if you never try you never win
So try each day to try a little harder
And if you fall, get up and try again"
--"Try," Dolly Parton
Dollywood and Abramorama in association with The Dollywood Foundation have partnered to present a free one-night-only live streaming world premiere event for The Library That Dolly Built, a behind-the-scenes look at Dolly Parton’s non-profit program, the Imagination Library. The world premiere event is a free live stream screening of the film, exclusively on Facebook, available nationally on Wednesday, December 9, at 7 PM EST / 6 PM CST / 4 PM PST. The screening will be followed by a conversation with, and an acoustic performance, by Dolly Parton. Viewers can tune into the live screening and conversation on Facebook.com/dollysimaginationlibrary.
In addition, the European premiere will be Thursday, December 10 at 7 PM GMT. Renowned actress, writer and politician, Baroness Floella Benjamin, DBE, will be on hand to kick off the evening.
The Australian premiere will be Friday, December 11 at 7 PM AEDT, with the multi-award-winning husband and wife duo Mark and Jay O’Shea introducing the film. Dolly Parton will also host fan Q&A and give a special acoustic performance following both the European and Australian premieres.
The film features the music of Dolly Parton and is narrated by actress and author, Danica McKellar. It is produced by Land Grant Films, directed by journalism professor Nick Geidner, edited by video instructor Clinton Elmore and crewed by 15 University of Tennessee students.
