|
Country music legend and
philanthropist Dolly Parton will be a keynote speaker during the
2010 RI Convention in Montréal,
Parton will speak at the morning plenary session on 23 June to
promote reading among preschool children. She and the Dollywood
Foundation's Imagination Library teamed up with Rotary International
in March to help provide age-appropriate books each month to
children from birth until age five.
Parton will speak to Rotarians about the importance of early
childhood reading and how the collaboration with Rotary
International has augmented the success of the Imagination Library.
The singer developed a personal love
of books while growing up in rural
"I am thrilled about our partnership with Rotary International," she
said in March. "Rotarians love kids as much as I do, so I truly
believe we can do something extraordinary together to help even more
children love to read and succeed."
Since its launch in 1996, the Imagination Library has provided more
than 23 million books to preschoolers.
Parton's impoverished childhood and
her father's illiteracy inspired the country singer to create a
literacy program in 1996 for preschool children in her native
The Imagination Library spread
quickly. Today, it serves 47 states, along with parts of
"I love books. Anytime I have spare time, I'm reading a book," says
Parton. "My father lived long enough to see this program become a
success and was so proud people called me 'the Book Lady.'"
According to the Dollywood Foundation, research shows that
preschoolers exposed to reading are more likely to look forward to
starting school, do well in class, read at or above grade level,
finish high school, and go on to college.
"It's great to start the children when they're little, when they're
most impressionable, to teach them how to read, teach them how to
learn to love books just as much as I do," says Parton.
The program also helps strengthen families by encouraging positive
interaction between parents and children through shared reading.
"Let's face it, when a little child gets a book with their name on
it, they're going to run to the nearest family member and badger
them until they sit down and read it," says Parton.
The Imagination Library is especially valuable for children in
underprivileged families, who may find books to be an unaffordable
luxury in today's economic slowdown.
For an annual cost of US$28 per child, the Dollywood Foundation
sends children registered for the program one book a month,
beginning with
The Little
Engine That Could.
The books are age appropriate and range from life lessons to bedtime
stories.
About 115 Rotary clubs already
participate, and that number will triple with the addition of all
203 clubs in
For decades, Rotary clubs worldwide have supported literacy programs
for children and adults. This collaborative relationship with the
Dollywood Foundation is an exciting new literacy opportunity for
Rotary.
Parton says she's excited to be working with an organization with so
much international reach.
"Rotary has always been willing to do their part in just about
everything," she says. "Like I always say, you can never do enough,
but you can always do something. Just knowing they have all those
wonderful clubs all over the world, we can try and help everybody." |
Dolly Parton To Give Keynote Speech