“If I can hold God’s attention, I can hold the world’s.” - Dolly Parton
She had my attention. I had to look twice. Dolly Parton, here in West Michigan? The outfit, the big smile, the hair, it was all there. I remembered a famous Dolly quote: “People always ask me how long it takes to do my hair, but I don’t know, because I’m never there.”
I was at a United Way of the Lakeshore fundraiser at The Corner on West Muskegon Avenue. It wasn’t Dolly I saw, but her impersonator, Claudia Fain, from Austin, Texas, who was promoting the Dolly Parton's Imagination Library (DPIL).
The Oceana County DPIL, an affiliate of the United Way of the Lakeshore, offers free books from Dolly to all registered children from birth to age 5.
The first book, "The Little Engine That Could," and the last book, "Watch Out, Kindergarten, Here I Come!" are just two of the books that children receive during their enrollment. The books are selected by a blue-ribbon panel of educators and correspond to the child’s developmental level. They are signed by Dolly and mailed to the children at their homes.
Self-empowerment and gratitude are two revolving themes in Dolly’s philosophy. These are reminders that real magic comes from within and that gratitude opens doors to joy and makes every moment meaningful - themes that are the foundation of her literacy program.
Dolly saw how illiteracy negatively impacted her family, friends and relatives in Sevier County, Tennessee. She saw how easy it is for parents to become apathetic, disenfranchised, disinherited, and marginalized and was determined to mitigate these obstacles by helping them give their children a “leg up” in life through early childhood literacy.
She credits her father as her inspiration for the DPIL. Illiterate himself, he encouraged Dolly to motivate families to read to their youngsters and ensure that no child/family would be without books. Today, the Imagination Library mails over 50 million books a year to preschoolers worldwide.
“I’m the little engine that did,” says Dolly.
Consider the research: since the optimum window for language development is from birth to age 3, preschoolers who are read to regularly are more likely to enter kindergarten reading and ready to learn. Children in homes with books are more likely to develop strong language skills. Books in the home strengthen family bonding and routines. Having books in the home and having parents read with their children are stronger indicators of academic achievement and success in life than intelligence.
Locally, over 6,000 children are enrolled in Muskegon and Oceana counties. More than 72,000 books are mailed each month. A United Way survey found that 71% of caregivers read to their children daily.
Dr. Ben Carson, neurosurgeon and former Cabinet head, attests to the power of having books in the home. Ben and his brother, an astrophysicist, were living on the streets, with drugs, crime and potentially prison in their future. Their mother, wanting her sons to have a better life than she had, required them to read two books a week and write written reports for her, even though she could hardly read herself. “Between the covers of a book, I could go anyplace, be anybody, and do anything,” recalls Dr. Carson. Books changed his life.
Illiteracy and incarceration are strongly related. Over 70% of incarcerated adults are reading at or below a fourth-grade level, and roughly 85% of juveniles in court systems demonstrate low literacy. If you compare the cost of sponsoring one child for free books for a year, $35, with the cost of incarceration for a year, the DPIL is a bargain and a gift to the community.
“If you're going to dream, you're going to have to get out and put some wings on them dreams, and some feet and fingers and some hands…You've got to think of what you want to do, and then you've got to get out and make that happen." - Dolly Parton
