The world lost a treasure on August 25, 2026, when superstar Dolly Parton died at the age of 80. She was a global icon who was loved across cultures, borders, and generations. A legendary singer and songwriter, actor, and businesswoman, she was also a humanitarian who valued people over fame and fortune.
Parton, who “always gave from her heart,” made enormous contributions to child literacy.
She was known as the Queen of Country who wore lavish rhinestone-studded outfits and towering platinum blonde wigs, but said, “If I’m remembered 100 years from now, I hope it will be not for looks but for books.”
She launched Imagination Library in 1996 to inspire a love of reading by gifting books free of charge to children from birth to age five, through funding shared by Dolly Parton and local community partners in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and the Republic of Ireland.
"My daddy was the smartest man I have ever known, but I knew his inability to read probably kept him from seeing all of his dreams come true. Inspiring kids to love to read became my mission,” she said after launching the literacy program.
For Parton’s dedication to childhood literacy, she was the winner of NEA’s 2022 Friend of Education Award, which was announced at the NEA Annual Representative Assembly (RA) in Chicago on July 5, 2022.
“Dolly Parton is a national treasure, and America’s educators are proud to bestow NEA’s highest honor, the ‘Friend of Education’ award, upon her,” said then NEA President Becky Pringle. “In addition to bringing incalculable joy, with a smile like a breath of spring and a soft voice like summer rain, to fans across the world, she has championed literacy, learning and diversity in literature for nearly half a century. In distributing more than 2 million books each month, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has poured a cup of ambition for millions of young children… Educators will always love Dolly.”
The NEA Friend of Education Award recognizes a person or organization whose leadership and acts or support have significantly contributed to the improvement of American public education.
Parton said winning NEA’s Friend of Education award is “a special honor.”
In a video thank you to the NEA delegates gathered in Chicago, Parton said she knew how hard educators work to help every student succeed.
"I’m working to do my part as well,” Parton said. “My foundation offers college scholarships for local high school students and my theme park Dollywood is covering college tuition and expenses for employees.”
But Parton said she was most excited about her Imagination Library, which as of August 2026 has gifted more than 330 million books to inspire a love of reading in children from birth to age five.
Parton started the library in honor of her father who never had the opportunity to learn to read and write. “He saw the program really growing and told me he was prouder of that than of just about anything else I’d ever done,” said Parton.
Dolly Parton grew up in a one-bedroom cabin in the mountains of Tennessee, the fourth of twelve children. While she was widely known for her work as a musician, entertainer and songwriter, since the 1980s she supported many charitable efforts in the area of literacy, primarily through her Dollywood Foundation. Formed in 1988, the Dollywood Foundation, funded from Dolly’s profits, originally launched to help decrease high school dropout rates in Parton's home community of Sevier County, Tennessee.
In one of her first efforts, the Buddy Program, Dolly gave $500 to every seventh and eighth grader who finished high school in Sevier County. However, there was one additional requirement: each student’s Buddy must graduate as well, and they had to sign a contract pledging to do everything they could to make sure they both graduated. Through the Buddy Program, Sevier County’s dropout rate decreased from over 30 percent to just 6 percent. From there, the Dollywood Foundation expanded into other education efforts, including the Imagination Library.
On behalf of her team and all of their local partners, Parton told NEA that she was happy to accept NEA's Friend of Education award and she thanked NEA members for all they do.
“Together, let’s continue to inspire kids to dream more, care more, learn more, and therefore, be more," she said.
“And remember,” she concluded, as she sang the refrain of one of her most famous songs, “I will always love you!”
And educators will always love Dolly, and they will be sure her literacy legacy continues.
