|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready… |
A coat of many colors owned by a woman of many causes, it has been one month since the death of country music legend Dolly Parton, and this week, the King County Council officially proclaimed Sept. 25. to be “Dolly Parton 9 to 5 Day.”
“In the passing of Dolly Parton, a number of people reached out and one of them was a friend who was mourning Dolly Parton’s loss and she said, ‘You know, Dolly Parton really stood for children’s literacy and getting access to vaccines, you should do something in partnership with the library system and public health to promote literacy and make sure if they can get their vaccines and we should do it on nine-two-five [9/25] day to also have a tribute to worker power and supporting our workers,’” said King County councilmember Teresa Mosqueda.
“She was a legend, not only for her music but for her commitment to working families and making sure everybody had a good start in life: That’s what today celebrates.”
Co-sponsored by councilmembers Mosqueda and Rod Dembowski, the Dolly Parton 9 to 5 Day proclamation followed the news that Parton’s Imagination Library of Washington is restoring service to King County, after partnering with Page Ahead Children’s Literacy program.
The Imagination Library is a free book-gifting program that partners with local literacy organizations (like Page Ahead) to mail high-quality children’s books for ages 0-5 to families across the country
“Before he passed away, my Daddy told me the Imagination Library was probably the most important thing I had ever done,” said Parton in a letter posted to the Imagination Library website. “I can’t tell you how much that meant to me because I created the Imagination Library as a tribute to my Daddy. He was the smartest man I have ever known but I know in my heart his inability to read probably kept him from fulfilling all of his dreams.”
To celebrate “Dolly Parton 9 to 5 Day,” Mosqueda partnered with the King County Library System (KCLS), the Imagination Library of Washington, Page Ahead, the City of Tukwila and Public Health Seattle-King County to host the Tukwila Library’s children’s story time event and vaccine promotion, which began before noon.
Mosqueda was joined by Tukwila Mayor Thomas McLeod, Tukwila City Councilmember Kate Kruller, Page Ahead Executive Director Susan Dibble and KCLS Executive Director Heidi Daniel for the event.
For information on KCLS Story Time events throughout the county, visit kcls.org/littlekids. To sign up for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program, visit imaginationlibrary.com.
