[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 140 (Tuesday, September 10, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H5108]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   DOLLY PARTON'S IMAGINATION LIBRARY

  (Mr. DesJARLAIS asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DesJARLAIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Rhea 
County's 18 years of participation in Dolly Parton's Imagination 
Library.
  Parton first founded the program in 1995 in Sevier County where she 
grew up. The library provides a monthly book to children from birth 
until age 5 as a way to promote early literacy.
  In 2004, Dolly Parton worked with the Governor and the Tennessee 
State Legislature to expand the program statewide.
  Tennessee is celebrating 20 years of public-private partnership 
between the Governor's Early Literacy Foundation and Dolly Parton's 
Imagination Library to help children across our great State develop a 
solid foundation for literacy and love of reading from an early age.
  On September 11, 2006, the program was brought to Rhea County and in 
that time has graduated over 4,500 children.
  I congratulate the Rhea County Library on this wonderful 
accomplishment and thank them for all they do to help the children of 
their community learn necessary foundational literary skills that will 
set them up for future success.

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