One of God's ten commandments is for believers to honor one's parents, and this is exactly what Christian country singer Dolly Parton recently did as she dedicated the Imagination Library, a non-profit organization that donates books to children worldwide, to her father.
Parton, 72, credited her late father, Robert Lee Parton, for being the inspiration for Imagination Library, according to The Christian Post. Since its establishment in 1995, the organization has donated over 100 million books to children's homes worldwide.
Growing up, Parton could not read or write. The only book she remembers having at home is the Bible. Even though she could not study the Bible, her father taught her everything she knows about God. Because of this, Parton only thought it fitting to honor his legacy after he passed away in 2000.
"I wanted to do something special for him," she said, the Washington Post reported. "In the Bible, it talks about honoring your father and mother."
When the singer attended the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. back in February to read to preschoolers, she said that her father actually took great pride in calling her "the book lady."
"I never thought about being 'the book lady,' " she jokingly said. "The painted lady, yes, the overexaggerated lady. That goes to show you can't judge a book by its cover."
She hopes that the books they have donated will help children fuel their dreams and imaginations so they can, in turn, offer their help to the community. While a hundred million books is no small feat, Parton is actually planning to expand the Imagination Library and give more kids access to better learning.
"Of all the things I've done in my life - and it's been a lot because I've been around — this is the most precious," she said. "Maybe we'll be back for a billion."
