The Early Childhood Council Logan, Phillips, Sedgwick (ECCLPS) wants to keep Dolly Parton's legacy and the Imagination Library alive with a special Dolly Parton fundraiser.
Dolly Parton passed away on August 25, 2026, at the age of 80. She was known not only for her many talents but also for her philanthropic efforts. One of those efforts was the Imagination Library that Parton founded in 1995 to honor her father’s inability to read or write. It is a free early‑literacy initiative that mails high‑quality, age‑appropriate books each month to children from birth to age five, funded jointly by the Dollywood Foundation and local partners. The program was started in Tennessee and has grown to include all of the United States, as well as many places around the globe.
To continue these efforts, the ECCLPS has set up a new fundraising page on its ‘Colorado Gives’ page, and they invite everyone to participate. Since Dolly’s passing, the ECCLPS has registered nearly 50 new children for the program and now has 563 children enrolled in Logan County! The funds to pay for those books come directly through ECCLPS. (There is some funding assistance from the State of Colorado currently) The cost of books for one child for one year is $31. They are trying to get at least 80 people (one person for each year Dolly was alive) to sponsor one child.
The ECCLPS works with multiple councils to improve the quality of early learning environments to prepare young children to enter kindergarten; build resources and skills of families; ensure that families have access to social, physical, and mental health services; and deliver resources to increase the effectiveness of early childhood professionals. The councils contribute to statewide initiatives that increase the quality, accessibility, capacity, and affordability of early childhood programs across Colorado.
ECCLPS Program Coordinator Stacey Zink has a few ways to get to the ‘Colorado Gives’ donation page:
1. Go to Coloradogives.org and type in ‘ECCLPS’ in the search box, which will take you to the Discover & Donate page. One of the top boxes shows the fundraiser "Keep Dolly Parton's Legacy Strong", that page will come up, and people can donate there.
2. They also have it posted on their Facebook page as well, and folks can follow the link posted, which will take them directly to the donation page.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19HSxTRRZS/
3. People can also visit the Early Childhood Council Logan, Phillips, Sedgwick website at ecclps.org. Click on the ‘DONATE’ button at the top of the page, and it will take you to the Colorado Gives page.
The goal is to get at least 80 people (one person for each year Dolly was alive) to sponsor one child. As stated on the Colorado Gives page: for just $31, you can give a child 12 months of joy, discovery, and learning. Your gift provides one age-appropriate book every month for an entire year, helping children from birth through age five develop language and vocabulary skills through the power of repetition, conversation, and reading together. Over the course of the program, your support can help a child build a personal library of up to 60 books. As Dolly Parton said, "You can never get enough books into the hands of enough children."
For more information, go to ecclps.org or call 970-526-2440 and ask about the Dolly Parton fundraiser.