Sep 5, 2026
Across Saskatchewan, fans mourning the loss of country music icon Dolly Parton are choosing to honour her memory in the way she loved most: by opening a book for a child.
Following news of Parton’s passing, an immediate wave of public generosity washed over local affiliates of her flagship book-gifting initiative, the Imagination Library. For organizers who have spent years quietly working to keep children supplied with free literature, the emotional groundswell has brought both tears and vital financial relief.
Honoring a legend through the pages of a book
Three local programs in Saskatchewan reported a sudden uptick in direct memorial donations as community members sought a tangible way to celebrate Parton’s decades of quiet, transformative philanthropy.
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“She wanted to give every opportunity to anyone despite their social background,” Candace Odishaw, who leads the Nutana Rotary Club branch of the Imagination Library in Saskatoon, told CBC News.
The global initiative sends a free, high-quality, age-appropriate book directly to registered children every month from birth until their fifth birthday, no matter their family income. Parton founded the charity in 1995 as a personal tribute to her father, a smart and hardworking man who had never learned to read or write. What began as a small dream in East Tennessee grew into an international movement that has gifted hundreds of millions of books to young minds.
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A quiet lifesaver for local communities
Across the province, more than 2,800 children are currently enrolled in the program, and local initiatives have distributed more than 22,000 books to date, according to figures provided by Odishaw to CBC News.
The Canadian branch of the Imagination Library celebrated 20 years of operations earlier this summer, according to The StarPhoenix.
For many families, receiving a book in the mail stamped with Parton’s vision brings pure magic into the living room, fostering bedtime reading routines that alter a child’s educational trajectory forever.
The ongoing struggle behind the magic
Yet even amidst an outpouring of love, local program directors face a bittersweet reality. While the international foundation selects the books and manages high-level distribution, local affiliates are entirely responsible for raising every dollar needed to cover printing and postage costs for children in their own backyards.
The financial demand frequently outstrips what local volunteers can raise. Earlier this year, when the Saskatoon Nutana Rotary Club reopened its enrollment drive, the response was overwhelming. Within just three days, 300 applications flooded in, forcing organizers to pause online registrations to avoid promising books they could not afford to mail out.
Keeping the dream alive for every child
The recent surge in memorial giving offers a vital lifeline, but organizers stress that the work is far from finished. Monthly subscriptions require predictable, ongoing support to ensure no child is dropped from the list before their fifth birthday.
As fans continue to mourn the loss of one of the world’s most beloved entertainers, local advocates hope the momentum generated by Parton’s memory will turn into a lasting commitment from donors. For volunteers like Odishaw, every dollar raised ensures that Parton’s legacy will not just live on in her music, but in the bedtime stories read to children across Saskatchewan for generations to come.
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Leslie Kennedy served as an editor at Thomson Reuters and for Star Media Group, followed by a number of years as a writer and editor and content manager in marketing communications, before returning to her editorial roots. She is a graduate of Humber College’s post-graduate journalism program and has been a professional writer and editor ever since.
