News

Yesterday, the world lost Dolly Parton. While she will be remembered for her music, her warmth, her humor, and her incredible generosity,  we at Smart Start of Mecklenburg County want to honor the part of her legacy that touches our community every single day: the Imagination Library.

Dolly launched her Imagination Library in 1995 because she believed every child deserved a book of their own. That a book sparks imagination, builds vocabulary, strengthens family bonds, and opens the door to a lifetime of learning. That belief has shaped the lives of millions of children around the world -- including tens of thousands right here in Mecklenburg County.

The Imagination Library first came to Charlotte in 2014, starting in the 28205 zip code. It expanded countywide when the state of North Carolina began funding the program across all 100 counties in 2017. Since then, Smart Start of Mecklenburg County has mailed more than 5.3 million books to local children and families. Today, approximately 40,000 children are enrolled at any given time, and we deliver around 377,000 books every year.

In recent years, the program has continued to grow in ways that reflect our community. Since June 2024, families have had access to a bilingual book option, and about 10% of enrolled families have chosen that option.

Research tells us that 90% of brain development happens before age five, and children who are read to regularly develop stronger language and school readiness skills. Dolly knew this instinctively. She grew up in a family where her father could not read, and she turned that personal experience into a program that has now put more than 300 million books into the hands of children worldwide.

Dolly's vision lives on in every book that arrives in a child's mailbox, in every bedtime story shared between a parent and child, and in every young reader who shows up for their first day of kindergarten already in love with books. At Smart Start of Mecklenburg County, we are proud and grateful to carry that vision forward in the community she helped shape.

Want to be part of Dolly's legacy? Registration for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is open to all Mecklenburg County families with children from birth to age five. Visit their website to enroll your child today.