Following the death Tuesday of country music icon, actor and philanthropist Dolly Parton, a Hopkinsville business has announced plans for a memorial fundraiser in her honor.
Hopkinsville Brewing Co. will host Donations for Dolly to benefit the Dolly Parton Imagination Library through the Hopkinsville-Christian County Public Library.
On Saturday, Sept. 5, the brewery will donate 9.5% of total sales to the local Imagination Library. The fundraiser date and the percentage of sales both are inspired by one of Parton’s best known movies, “9 to 5,” which also starred Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.
Parton founded Imagination Library in 1995 to provide books free of charge to children from birth until they begin kindergarten. Children enrolled in the program receive an age-appropriate book every month for five years.
The Christian County Imagination Library was established in 2002, when an anonymous donor provided $200,000 in startup money.
Parton’s Dollywood Foundation provides books at a wholesale price to local programs like the one in Christian County, and the foundation covers administrative expenses. However, local programs are still responsible for purchasing the discounted books and paying for postage to ship the books. State funding approved by the Kentucky General Assembly also covers a portion of the program costs in all 120 counties.
In a Facebook post, the brewery provided the following information about the local Imagination Library:
- Last month 2,734 children in Christian County received an Imagination Library book.
- Each book costs approximately $2.20, which is $155 for each child enrolled for five years
- After accounting for state support, the Christian County Imagination Library spends $43,500 annually to buy and mail books to children.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
