The queen of country music Dolly Parton added a touch of glitz and glamour to a Yorkshire steel town when she made a flying visit to Rotherham last week. Dolly was over here to meet with council officials for the launch of a special children’s book programme. Dressed in a sparkly dress and killer heels, Dolly treated her 250 strong council audience to a rendition of her “Nine to Five” hit song.
Dolly chose Rotherham as the first town in Britain to benefit from her Dollywood Foundation’s “Imagination Library”, as it has a lower than average literacy rate with high rates of poverty and unemployment. The “Imagination Library” scheme, designed to help improve children’s literacy skills, has proved hugely successful in the States, since its launch there in 1996 and has now spread to more than 40 states. Funded by the Dollywood Foundation, it involves posting out one book a month to pre-school children, to help and encourage them to read. Dolly stated that she believed reading “sows the seeds of dreams” in children to become doctors, writers or whatever they choose to be.
Rotherham Council will be sponsoring the new scheme which is due to be launched in the New Year, after the council leader, a big country and western fan, suggested the idea after a trip to Dolly’s hometown of Tennessee. The first book chosen to be sent to Rotherham’s children will be Beatrix Potter’s “The Tales of Peter Rabbit and Friends”. Dolly is hoping that the scheme will soon spread to other British towns and cities.
5 comments:
What a nice story about Dolly. I remember seeing her on TV years and years ago before she made it big. I'm not a fan of country music but I do like her.
This is a wonderful post! You are more informative than FOX News! Dolly is one of our favorite C&W singers and I find out what she is doing here on Diary From England!!
Glad you enjoyed it Sheila. I've always loved Dolly. She's a great singer. Some friends of mine were over there last year and visited the Dollywood theme park.
Well what can I say - I try my best Janey! Dolly is a great singer and a great person too! Her book project is a really good idea.
Hi Naomi
Thanks for sending this article to me! I have included it in my Blog Carnival. Feel free to pop on over and have a look :)
Wow, Dolly Parton. Who knew? Clearly she is a woman with a big heart. It is good information. The beauty in passing along a legacy such as literacy is that it is one of the few things in life no one can ever take away from us. Now THAT IS powerful.
Warmest regards,
Bur Bur and Friends children's book series
Multicultural characters educating kids about sports, outdoor exploration and active play
Post a Comment