Dolly Parton's family have asked those wishing to honour the late country music legend to support the Imagination Library, a cause that held a special place in her heart.
It was announced yesterday evening that the country music star had died at age 80.
Ms Parton’s representatives said the singer died “after bravely facing a brief battle with cancer”.
Following her death, Parton’s family requested that, instead of flowers, people consider donating to the children’s literacy programme, Imagination Library.
Parton founded the programme more than 30 years ago, and it has since made a lasting impact in Ireland.
The Imagination Library was inspired by Parton’s father, who could neither read nor write.
Speaking about her father in an interview on The Late Late Show in 2022, Parton said that her father felt "crippled by the fact that he couldn't read or write" as she stated that he was one of the smartest people she knew.
Parton's Imagination Library is a programme that the country star started to inspire kids to "love to read." Every month, the Imagination Library mails a high-quality, age-appropriate book to all of the children registered with no cost to the child's family.
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The programme launched in Ireland in 2019, making it the first country to introduce the Imagination Library.
When the programme was introduced in Ireland, Parton encouraged parents to sign their children up, saying that you can "never get enough books into the hands of young children."
In 2022, the Imagination Library had gifted more than 200,000 books to Irish pre-school children, according to RTE.
According to reports, as of June this year, Parton's Imagination Library has gifted more than 3.5 million books every month to children in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland. Find more information on Parton's Imagination Library here.
In a statement to US media outlets, Parton's publicists Marcel Pariseau said that the legend "departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones."
Her death was announced on social media yesterday by her nephew, Bryan Seaver.
In the video, Seaver said: "My name is Bryan Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I'm representing the Parton and Owens family today, announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean. Sister, sis, and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next."
"This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality. As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven't truly felt it until now," he continued.
"It is an honour, an honour that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl (her late husband), her parents and countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens," the statement concluded.
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