Parton’s words of encouragement are receiving renewed attention following her death at age 80
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NEED TO KNOW
- Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library graduation letter is receiving renewed attention following her death at 80
- The letter offers encouragement to children as they finish the program at age 5 and prepare to start school
- Parton’s literacy initiative has distributed more than 300 million books to children since its launch in 1995
Dolly Parton’s words to children graduating from her Imagination Library are receiving renewed attention following the country music icon’s death.
Parton, who died Aug. 25 at age 80, left behind a message for children who received books through her childhood literacy program. The letter is included with the final Imagination Library book children receive when they turn 5, according to Hannah Sampson, a staff writer for The Washington Post who shared the letter.
“Dear Imagination Library Graduate,” the letter begins.
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Parton goes on to reflect on how quickly the children have grown, recalling when their families first read to them as babies. She encourages them to continue reading after they receive their final Imagination Library book, pointing them toward their local public libraries for more stories.
“Every book is a treasure and every time you open one up you will meet new friends and take wonderful journeys to magical places,” Parton writes in the letter.
She also offers encouragement as the children begin school, reminding them that they are capable of pursuing their ambitions.
“There is no limit to what you can do or how far you can go,” Parton writes.
The letter closes with three pieces of advice she says she learned from her family: “dream big dreams; learn everything you can learn; and care for all those who care for you.” Parton then tells the young graduates that if they follow those lessons, “you can be anyone you want to be.”
“You are terrific, and remember…” she writes before signing off, “I Will Always Love You, Dolly.”
Although the letter has resurfaced after Parton’s death, it is not a new message written in response to her passing.
A video shared in 2022 also features Parton delivering the same message herself.
The letter is part of the legacy of the Imagination Library, the childhood literacy program founded by Parton in 1995 through her Dollywood Foundation. The program sends free, age-appropriate books to enrolled children from birth through age 5, regardless of their family’s income, according to the organization.
Parton previously told PEOPLE that the program was inspired by her father, Robert Lee, who was unable to read and write because he had to leave school as a child to work.
“That always made me feel bad about my dad, so I started it based on that, just for our county,” Parton told PEOPLE in 2022. “It’s just grown in leaps and bounds ever since then, but it came from a place in my heart to try to help children in their young years, their most impressionable years, to learn how to read and write.”
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By 2025, the Imagination Library was distributing more than 3.4 million books each month to children in the U.S. and abroad and had provided more than 300 million books since its launch, according to the information available.
Parton also spoke about the personal importance of the program when she received the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in 2022.
“I’m proud of the Imagination Library as much as anything I’ve ever done in my life,” she told PEOPLE at the time.
After her death, Parton’s family encouraged fans to honor her legacy by supporting the Imagination Library.
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In a statement shared on Parton’s official Instagram, the family wrote, “In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to be made to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.”
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce donated $2 million to the Imagination Library in July, making it one of the charities the couple supported ahead of their wedding.
Parton responded with a video thanking the couple for the gift and jokingly asking if she could have their firstborn child.
“I’m blown away and overjoyed with that gratitude,” Parton said in the video. “Now, it’s evident that you two have made giving back a key part of your lives. So, hey, when you have your firstborn, can I have it? Because that is going to be one special baby.”
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