Dolly Parton Offers ‘Drive With Dolly’ License Plate In Support Of Her Imagination Library

The state of Tennessee will soon be requiring all drivers to get a new license plate and Dolly Parton has a colorful solution that will support a good cause. 

The Dolly Parton Foundation has created a special “Drive with Dolly” license plate that features her face on top of a beautiful sunset image. The singer explained that 100% of the plate sales will go towards supporting her Imagination Library, which offers free books to children five years old or younger. 

The program has already helped more than 275,000 children and with each new plate purchased, one child’s enrollment will be fully funded for a year. 

“I’m so excited about my new license plate helps benefit the Imagination Library,” Parton said in a video clip. “I’ve got mine, do you have yours?”

Proceeds from the license plate sales will be distributed to the local program partners based off the county that the plate was purchased in. In Tennessee, half of the shipping costs among all 95 counties will be covered by the program’s partner, the Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation. 

“As the statewide partner for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Tennessee, we are grateful for this opportunity to raise awareness of the program and the love of reading it fosters in children,” said James Pond, GELF President. “Not only will this license plate serve as a reminder of the importance of reading with children from birth, but it will support county affiliates in fundraising their half of the cost of books to ensure every Tennessee child is able to receive this wonderful program.”

According to the program’s website, the “9 To 5” singer’s Imagination Library “is a book gifting program that mails free, high-quality books to children from birth to age five, no matter their family’s income.” 

The first few books were distributed in 1995 to kids in Sevier County, TN, which is known as the town Dolly grew up in. By 2003, one million books had been mailed out to children and not long after, the program went international. It extended beyond the U.S. to branches in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and The Republic of Ireland.  

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“When I was growing up in the hills of East Tennessee, I knew my dreams would come true. I know there are children in your community with their own dreams. They dream of becoming a doctor or an inventor or a minister. Who knows, maybe there is a little girl whose dream is to be a writer and singer,” Parton shared in a statement regarding the program’s mission. “The seeds of these dreams are often found in books and the seeds you help plant in your community can grow across the world.”

On Tuesday, August 9, Parton celebrated the success of her Imagination Library in Ohio and West Virginia with two special livestream broadcasts that included a musical performance and conversations with the state’s governors. 

The license plates can be purchased at local county clerks’ offices across the state of Tennessee.