DOLLY PARTON LAUNCHES 2011 BETTER DAY WORLD TOUR WITH KNOXVILLE CONCERT TO BENEFIT HER DOLLYWOOD FOUNDATION

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn.—Entertainment legend Dolly Parton will launch her 2011 Better Day World Tour on July 17 in Knoxville, Tenn., with concert proceeds benefiting her not-for-profit Dollywood Foundation.

“ It’s been a long time since I played Knoxville, so I am thrilled to launch my Better Day tour right here on the banks of the Tennessee River,” Parton said.  “Since this tour is all about hope and looking forward to better days, I thought it would only be right to donate the proceeds of this concert to my Imagination Library.  It will be a special night and I am really looking forward to it.”

Tickets go on sale April 1 at knoxvilletickets.com or via phone at (865) 656-4444 or (877) 995-9961.  The concert will take place at the University of Tennessee’s Thompson-Boling Arena at 8 p.m.  Ticket prices are $59.50, $49.50 and $39.50.

Parton’s Dollywood Foundation administers the entertainer’s Imagination Library program.  Proceeds from the concert will provide necessary funds to cover the program’s overhead expenses.  As a result, participating communities must only pay for postage and purchase the books they provide to children enrolled in their programs. 

The Imagination Library was launched in 1996 for preschool-age children in Parton’s native Sevier County, Tenn.  To promote the importance of reading to children in the first five years of life, each child residing in Sevier County received one book each month from birth until the age of five.  The 60-volume collection is selected by a committee comprised of individuals from education, child development, academia and early childhood literacy.

The Imagination Library has expanded and now serves 1,200 communities in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.  To date, the Imagination Library has distributed 33 million books.  Recently, through its work with the Scottish Government and Scottish Book Trust, the Dollywood Foundation recently announced that the Imagination Library will now deliver books to 3,341 foster care children in Scotland.

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For more information, please contact David Dotson, President of the Dollywood Foundation at (865) 428-9604. 

WSMV: Gov. Phil Bredesen & Kids Celebrate Imagination Library Week

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Several students brought out the governor's creative side Wednesday. Pre-Kingergarten students at Crockett Elementary in Brentwood gave the governor a poster of their colorful handprints.

Gov. Phil Bredesen was at the school to celebrate the 2010 Imagination Library Week, which is Sept. 19-25. Dolly Parton created the program, which mails free books to children from birth to age 5, in 1996.

Six years ago, the governor created his Books From Birth Foundation to support Imagination Library. On Wednesday, he called that move a no-brainer.

"Kids are excited about getting the books in the mail," said Bredesen. "If there's some of them who it touches that might not have books in the home otherwise, perhaps it'll help them in school. But I love the program."

The governor said he especially loves that the program isn't based in Nashville but in the communities, which have stepped up and ensured its success.

More than 10 million free books have been delivered to kids through the program, which serves 215,000 children.

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Imagination Library Week is being celebrated in Lincoln County from Sept. 20-24.

As part of the celebration, volunteers will be reading to all the pre-k students at Ralph Askins School this week.

In Lincoln County, there will be a celebration that 76.16 percent of pre-school children are receiving a book a month from the Imagination Library, said Teresa Brown of Imagination Library here.

“Books are being mailed to 1,438 children,” Brown said. “Over 70,000 books have been mailed to children since the program began. The ultimate goal is that all children starting school have had books in the home since birth.”

Parents can go to dollysimaginationlibrary.com   to change their address if needed. There are also change of address and registration forms available at the Health Department and the Fayetteville-Lincoln County Public Library. The Health Department has registration forms in Spanish.
Parents can go online to www.governorsfoundation . org to register their children.
 
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10 Million Books To Tennessee

The Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation (GBBF) and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library are celebrating a significant milestone: more than 10 million free books have been delivered to Tennessee children in all 95 counties since the program began in 2004, developing their vocabulary, school readiness and a love of learning.

Currently, more than 214,000 Tennessee children under the age of five (57 percent) in all 95 counties are receiving an age appropriate, high quality book delivered each month to their home. More than 170,000 children have graduated from the program since 2004.
Locally, the Friends of the Library is the sponsor for the free monthly books from birth to age 5, with around 40% of the county’s eligible children enrolled. There are 437 children receiving the books and 418 have graduated after reaching age 5. The local program began in March 2005. To enroll a Polk County child, contact Jan Lycans at 496-1267 or Jenny Rogers at 338-7669, or register online at www.governorsfoundation.org.
The milestone comes on the heels of the announcement that Tennessee is one of just two states awarded funding in the first round of President Obama’s Race to the Top competition, recognizing our state’s forward thinking in education reform and changing the way the nation views Tennessee’s commitment to education. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a part of that commitment, giving all Tennessee children access to free books and encouraging a lifetime of learning.

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"I want Brit Kids to Love Books too" Dolly Parton

"I GREW up poor and ragged in the hills of east Tennessee.
I knew my dreams would come true and I know there are people in British communities with their own dreams.
They dream of becoming a doctor or an inventor or a minister. Who knows, maybe there is a little girl whose dream is to be a writer and singer.
The seeds of these dreams are often found in books. The seeds people help plant in their community can grow across the world.
The Imagination Library Program is one of the most important ways I know to improve the educational opportunities for children.
We have seen it work in our own backyard and I’m certain it can do the same in British communities too.
We were contacted by the Rotherham people last year. They were in the US working on some other things when a girl from Tennessee tourism told them about the program.
This year we are distributing 11million books in the US. We started in Canada last year and now we’re coming to Britain.
But we don’t want to go where we’re not necessarily wanted. We only want to go in where we can help.
It’s not just for poor children – it’s for all children.
From the day they’re born, they will get a book a month till they are five. All the books arrive in their name in the mail.
In my backyard the children call me the Book Lady – they think I actually bring the books myself. "

.......................Dolly Parton

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