Texas Governor Recognizes September 25 as Dolly Parton Day

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has announced that, moving forward, September 25 will be known as Dolly Parton Day throughout the state. The country music legend was a staunch supporter of early literacy and an avid philanthropist, supporting families who lost their homes in natural disasters.

September 25 happens to be 9/25, a clever play on her hit song, "9 to 5," and Texas now joins other states like California and Ohio who have officially recognized the day.

Texas Recognizes Dolly Parton Day

In Governor Abbott's proclamation, he honored the late singer after her death on August 25, stating that Dolly Parton made her mark both on and off the stage. The Imagination Library is a part of the Dollywood Foundation, a nonprofit created in 1988 that's devoted to inspiring children to achieve educational success.

The Imagination Library was born from a simple goal: to share the love of reading with children. This was done by providing families with a specially selected book per month for all who are registered.

So far, over 3 million children are registered in the Imagination Library program, with over 332 million books given.

The Dollywood Foundation itself is responsible for reducing the dropout rate in her home county from 35% to 6%. This was done by personally giving every 7th and 8th grader $500 if they graduated high school.

Other September 25 Holidays

Moving forward, Dolly Parton Day now shares September 25 with over 33 other holidays. Some prominent ones are National Daughters Day, Binge Day, Math Storytelling Day, and One Hit Wonder Day.

Finally, the Dollywood Foundation established September 25 as Give Like Dolly Day, a global day honoring Dolly's commitment to the Imagination Library and its mission.

After all, Dolly herself said that "if you can read, you can do anything, dream anything, and be anything."

So, join me in wishing everyone a happy Dolly Parton Day every September 25 from now on!