As States Cut Back, Dolly Parton Charity Finds Itself Defunded

American treasure Dolly Parton has given so much of herself during her decades in the spotlight. The beloved Dollywood founder has given tens of millions to those less fortunate than her in her Eastern Tennessee home.

Parton has donated millions to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville to fund children’s cancer research and to fund the Hannah Dennison Butterfly Garden, named for Parton’s niece, at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital to entertain children with cancer. Parton also donated another $1 million to Vanderbilt to help fund research that led to the COVID-19 vaccine.

The country music legend has also funded animal sanctuaries, natural disaster relief, high school bands, and scholarships for high school seniors in Eastern Tennessee. She also gives Dollywood employees a paid day off to volunteer at local nonprofits.

Parton’s most successful charity has been the Imagination Libary. The program mails books to children from birth until they start school to foster a love of reading.

The program started in Tennessee and has expanded across the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and Australia. However, with state and national governments looking to cut back, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has found itself being stripped of its funding across the country.

The Imagination Library receives half its funding from local charities, while the other half comes from state governments. This week, Indiana released its state budget for next year, and the financing of the Imagination Library was removed.

The program, which sends a book monthly to children, costs $30 per child annually. Last year, the Imagination Library reached its goal of sending books to 10,000 children across Indiana.

State lawmakers did not say why the funding was cut, but State Representative Maureen Bauer called the cuts a “disservice” to Indiana’s children.

Dollywood Foundation vice chair Ted Miller said:

Indiana’s leaders have the opportunity right now, during this legislative session, to reaffirm their commitment to our Imagination Library partnership and the future of the state’s youngest children. We are currently seeking to work closely with key decision-makers to ensure that every child in Indiana, no matter where they live, can continue to receive the gift of books each month — free to their families and full of possibility.

It remains to be seen if the Indiana Legislature will reinstate the money or if this is the first in a series of cuts the Imagination Library will face. It’s hard to believe anyone would be against giving kids books, but here we are.