BURSTOutside their regular “9 to 5s,” two Greater Victoria moms are pouring cups full of ambition into ensuring the magic of music legend Dolly Parton lives on across the region.
For around four years, Saanich resident Denise Baillet and Victoria’s Kirsten Amadu have been the driving force behind Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Greater Victoria, which sends eligible children one free book per month, up until they turn five.
So far, the Greater Victoria branch has helped distribute over 2,000 free books. Baillet estimates 70 families have graduated from the program, with around 30 families currently enrolled – with many more on a waiting list. The branch is one of more than 70 across B.C.
The program does more than nurture a love of reading, says Baillet. It also creates opportunities for families to connect through books.
Among the literacy program’s graduates are Baillet’s two children, who came to know Parton less for her music and more for her gift of reading.
“Most adults, I would say, know her as a singer and songwriter,” she says. “However, most children just simply call her ‘the Book Lady’, and that’s how they know her.
“When my son got his book from the mailbox, he said ‘Oh my friend Dolly sent me another book,’ and he was so excited.”
News of Parton’s death this week (on Aug. 25) has stirred a mix of emotions for Baillet, from sadness to pride as the world celebrates the 80-year-old icon’s extraordinary career and philanthropy.
From funding medical research that helped develop one of the first COVID-19 vaccines to quietly paying for high school band uniforms at schools across Tennessee, stories of Parton’s generosity have inspired Baillet.
“She was making donations where it moved her and where she felt it would make a difference,” she says. “I’m thrilled that she’s really getting the recognition that she deserves – which she has had before, but not to this magnitude – it’s just taken over, it’s amazing.”
Baillet grew up listening to Parton’s music, citing ‘9 to 5’ as her favourite song, but says she has been surprised by some of the things she has learned about the singer in recent days.
“I had no idea she wrote Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You,” she adds.
Parton launched the Imagination Library in 1995 as a tribute to her father, who could not read or write. Since then, more than 300 million books have been gifted to children across five countries, including five million in Canada.
Parton often called the Imagination Library her proudest accomplishment, and once said, “If I’m remembered 100 years from now, I hope it will be not for looks, but for books.”
The opportunity to help carry that legacy forward brings Baillet close to tears.
“It’s actually a really big honour to be able to do that, because I’m so clear this is what she wanted,” she says, reflecting on one of Parton’s famous quotes: ”I didn’t have children because I believed that God didn’t mean for me to have kids so everybody’s kids could be mine.”
“So it’s a real honour to be carrying this on in her name,” Baillet adds.
Currently, the Greater Victoria branch supports children living in the V8R and V8Z postal codes, which covers parts of Saanich, Victoria and Oak Bay. In addition, outside Baillet’s Saanich home, located at 4252 Loenholm Pl., sits the Imagination Library lending library, where folks enrolled in the program can drop off books to share with others.
With additional funding and support, Baillet hopes the program can expand its reach to more families across the region.
“The next step is to have an organizational partner to really take it on, so we are able to grow the program and give it that backbone and support that it needs,” she said.
In the days following Parton’s death, Baillet says donations to the Imagination Library have surged both locally and around the world, following encouragement from the singer’s family to honour her legacy by supporting the program.
For now, Baillet likens the Greater Victoria branch’s progress to the program’s welcome book, The Little Engine That Could – a story Parton has said gave her the strength, hope and courage to keep chasing her dreams when she was a child.
For Baillet, the Greater Victoria branch is ‘the little library’ that can, and will.
“It feels like we’re just small, but we’ll keep chugging along,” she says.
To donate to the Imagination Library of Greater Victoria, visit: donate.imaginationlibrary.com.
For more information and updates, follow the Imagination Library of Greater Victoria on Facebook and Instagram.