Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Leaves Lasting Literacy Legacy in Watertown and Codington County

Steve Jurrens
Aug 28
2 min read

Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - As the world mourns the passing of iconic entertainer Dolly Parton, who died Tuesday, Aug. 25, at the age of 80, community leaders in Codington County are reflecting on her profound local impact. Beyond her music career, Parton’s passion for childhood literacy continues to shape young lives across South Dakota through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

In Codington County, 933 children are actively enrolled in the program, receiving a free, age-appropriate book mailed directly to their homes each month from birth through age five. Since the Watertown Area United Way helped launch the initiative locally in 2002, more than 4,500 area children have graduated from the program.

“Dolly Parton understood something very important: that giving a child a book is giving them so much more than a book,” said Lisa Dahl, Executive Director of the Watertown Area United Way. “It is giving them an opportunity to imagine, to learn, to bond with the adults who read to them, and to begin building the foundation for a lifetime of learning.”

The initiative’s South Dakota roots trace back to 2001, when local United Way leaders—including former Watertown Area United Way Executive Director Barry Wilfahrt—met with Parton to bring the Imagination Library statewide. That effort culminated in a partnership with the Dollywood Foundation and a sold-out Dolly Parton benefit concert in Sioux Falls that helped fund the statewide launch.

Recent local survey results demonstrate the tangible difference the program makes in Codington County homes:

· Daily Engagement: 91% of participating parents report reading to their child daily.

· Quality Time: 85% spend more time reading with their child because of the program.

· Kindergarten Readiness: 96% of parents believe the monthly books improved early literacy and helped prepare their child for school.

A child’s enrollment begins with The Little Engine That Could and concludes on their fifth birthday with Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!. Providing the monthly books costs the Watertown Area United Way approximately $40 per child annually, funded through community donations.

“Dolly Parton’s legacy is going to live far beyond her music,” Dahl said. “Every time a child opens one of these books, every time a parent sits down to read with their child, and every time a child discovers the joy of a story, a little piece of Dolly’s vision continues.”

To learn more about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Codington County or to support the program, contact the Watertown Area United Way at director@watertownunitedway.org or visit watertownunitedway.org.