RALEIGH, N.C. (WHKY) — Governor Josh Stein has proclaimed today, September 25, as “Dolly Parton’s The Imagination Library Day of Reading” in North Carolina, recognizing the country music legend’s work to promote childhood literacy.

Parton founded the Imagination Library through The Dollywood Foundation in 1995. The program mails free, age-appropriate books each month to enrolled children from birth until age 5, regardless of family income.

According to the Governor’s proclamation, the program has distributed more than 300 million books to nearly 3.2 million children in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and Republic of Ireland.

North Carolina became the first state outside Parton’s home state of Tennessee to expand the Imagination Library statewide. The Governor’s Office says nearly 25 million books have now been delivered to children across all 100 North Carolina counties.

The proclamation also recognizes the North Carolina Partnership for Children and Smart Start for supporting the statewide program. State lawmakers provided $3.5 million in the first year of the budget and $12 million in this year’s budget for the effort.

Stein also cited Parton’s support for western North Carolina following Hurricane Helene. Parton contributed more than $2 million toward recovery efforts in 2024.