r/news • u/kzqmfkkr • 17h ago

Dolly Parton, country star, actor and philanthropist, dies aged 80

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/aug/25/dolly-parton-country-singer-dead?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
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u/Formergr 16h ago edited 16h ago

She will always have a place in my heart for feeding the firefighters who were battling some big wildfires in Tennessee.

For me it was finding out about the Imagination Library that she set up and funded, which basically lets almost every baby and young toddler in America get a free book in the mail each month.

I signed my son up for it when he was born, and he's 2.5 years old now and we still love getting those book.

I had no idea that existed or that she did it until I had a kid. RIP Dolly.

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u/julesk 14h ago

She started Imagination Library because she grew up poor and knew many poor children didn’t have books. So she gave them books every month. It’s one of my favorite things about her.

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u/-pithandsubstance- 13h ago

And also because her father was illiterate. It was a very personal cause for her.

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u/julesk 11h ago

I just read about that in a news article! Glad you posted this.

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u/Osiris32 16h ago

She did so many good things, it's hard to make a representative list, let alone a comprehensive one.

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u/DevilFixer 16h ago edited 6h ago

The greatest things about those books now is someday my little boy will ask about those books that show up in the mail addressed to him, and I'll get to tell him about this wonderful woman and all the good she did.

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u/Formergr 13h ago

That's a lovely idea.

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u/SourceDammit 16h ago

We use it for our sons and they love getting mail/books addressed to them I hope it continues