Dolly Parton's Imagination Library
How DPIL Works
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is a program, sponsored by The Dollywood Foundation, that mails a brand new, age-appropriate book once a month to enrolled children from birth to age 5 in Shenandoah County.
The Dollywood Foundation provides the books free of charge, but the local community, through a non-profit, must pay the postage for mailing the books. The Shenandoah Education Foundation serves as the non-profit sponsor in Shenandoah County and helps DPIL to raise funds through grants and donations. The postage costs about $25 per child per year and we are currently able to serve over 1,000 children. This means we need to raise over $25,000 per year in order to continue to serve this many families in our community.
DPIL Shenandoah County's Impact
The Shenandoah Education Foundation serves as the fiscal agent for the local chapter of DPIL. Together with our community partners, we have raised over $200,000 to distribute over 130,000 books to our community’s youngest children!
Special Thanks to the Helen G. Moore Educational Trust
DPIL and the Shenandoah Education Foundation would like to recognize the Helen G. Moore Educational Trust for their very generous multi-year contribution to DPIL. The Trust’s mission statement is taken from Helen G. Moore’s will: “to provide special opportunities to benefit the Shenandoah County public schools above and beyond the programs normally funded by Shenandoah County, and is not to be used to replace such usual funding.” The Trust board recognizes the importance of early exposure to books and language in determining the success of students when they enter school and well into their futures.