My father once told me that the best gift you can give to anybody is education. This speaks to parents and their children, and to many other cases, such as non-profit organizations and youth programs. Being able to read and write are the most basic elements in becoming an educated person, which by today’s societal standards is pretty important. Education is one of the pillars of a person’s background that is required by most companies and employers. The ability to read is also just as essential in the most practical of applications in daily life – from ordering food to traveling to reading the morning paper, and so on.
Needless to say, reading is a skill, a privilege, and a gift. This is probably the best gift that celebrity turned advocate Dolly Parton had in mind when she started her program, called the Imagination Library. The program accepts monetary support from locals which in the end is utilized to provide books to kids of all ages, whatever their status in life is. Parton’s movement has helped a great deal in – and is continuing to – giving kids a headstart with their reading skills even before they enter kindergarten.
Read more of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library from Matthew Albright’s post.