Dolly Parton Day
Thank you, Calgary!
Because of your incredible generosity, we reached our $40,000 goal and 505 more children can participate in My First Bookshelf for one year. But the work isn’t done. We’re setting a new goal of $220,000 to support all those kids through the full five years of the program.
On Friday, Sept. 25, we’re celebrating Dolly Parton Day!
In partnership with Country 105, Calgary Public Library Foundation is remembering the legendary Dolly Parton and celebrating her support for children’s literacy.
In honour of her father, Lee, who never learned to read, Dolly started the Imagination Library, a charity that mails free books to children under the age of five every month. Through this program, Dolly wanted to make it possible for everyone to grow up with access to books, regardless of their family’s circumstances. She hoped these books would encourage children to love reading, dream more, and believe in themselves.
My First Bookshelf at Calgary Public Library provides this program locally, in partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Since its launch, the My First Bookshelf program has delivered more than 200,000 books to young readers in Calgary, impacting the lives of close to ten thousand local children and their families — and touching countless more through shared stories and learning experiences. In celebration of Dolly Parton’s indelible legacy, all funds raised today in support of My First Bookshelf will be put toward removing the program’s waitlist, which will help more than 500 local children start receiving books every month and build a lifelong love of reading. We invite you to come together as a community to get these kids into My First Bookshelf!
A special thank-you to Lorraine and Peter Moore and the Kanovsky Family Foundation who tripled donations this morning.
Thank you to everyone for your support.
About Calgary Public Library’s My First Bookshelf program
My First Bookshelf is a free program that delivers, by postal mail to a child’s home, an age-appropriate, personalized book once a month up to their fifth birthday. For a child enrolled in the program from birth, that’s 60 books for their home library! Book ownership is an impactful tool in the development of lifelong literacy and fundamental learning, positively affecting the formation of early language pathways, strengthening parent-child bonds. The number of books in a child’s home is also strongly correlated with later academic achievement.
Yes. You will receive a tax receipt three to five business days after your donation.
My First Bookshelf is operated in partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and made possible entirely by donors to Calgary Public Library Foundation, including Canada Life; Lori Egger and Steve Laut; Leah and Ernie Hagel; Kanovksy Family Foundation; Barbara Killick; Legacy Energy; Lorraine and Peter Moore; and Sticks & Strings Foundation.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a charity that has delivered more than 200 million books to children in communities across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and Australia.
The Imagination Library manages the delivery system, procures high-quality books from publishers at a reduced cost through special print runs, personalizes the books with the child’s name, and facilitates all packaging, shipping, and handling.
My First Bookshelf is made possible thanks to:
Chapter Sponsors: Canada Life; Lori Egger and Steve Laut; Leah and Ernie Hagel; Kanovksy Family Foundation; Barbara Killick; Legacy Energy; Lorraine and Peter Moore; Sticks & Strings Foundation.
Supporters and Partners: Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library; The Dollywood Foundation of Canada; Calgary Public Library Foundation donors.
Operated in partnership with:
