Dolly Parton Responded to Indiana’s Threat To Cut Funding of Her Children’s Literacy Program With This Smart Instagram Move

Do you remember the part in Elf where the nun cries, “But the children love the books!” as Buddy’s real-life father, Walter, delivers the ruthless news that the orphanage has missed its rental payments and must now return the children’s books? It’s so absurdly heartless (seriously, who rents books to kids, knowing most of those pages will be fingerprints and crayon marks by day three?) to really hammer on that Walter is very much on the Naughty List. Now, Indiana might be pulling a surprisingly similar stunt. The state’s proposed budget is poised to cut funding for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a program that mails free books to children.

Since 1995, Dolly’s Imagination Library has sent over 200 million books to children. Jointly funded by the state and local organizations, the initiative — one of Parton’s many community outreach efforts —  has mailed monthly books to more than 15,000 children in Indiana’s St. Joseph, Elkhart, LaGrange, and Noble counties. The South Bend Tribune credits the program with catapulting Indiana’s national child literacy ranking from 19th to an impressive 6th place. Even former Republican Governor Eric Holcomb praised the program in an outgoing op-ed in Indy Star, writing in January that Indiana’s adoption of the program was something to celebrate. Seeing such bipartisan love for education, you might think the program’s future is safe. Whelp!!

The proposals to cut its funding emerged after Republican Governor Mike Braun took office. For anyone unfamiliar with Braun’s greatest hits, here’s a taste. He questioned the constitutional right to interracial marriage in 2022, has received a massive amount of money from the NRA, and he was one of 38 Republican senators to vote against the Right to Contraception Act in 2024. During his campaign for governor last fall, his team even went so far as to run attack ads featuring digitally altered photos of his opponent — because what says “family-first values” like disinformation?

Now Braun, who has yet to offer a solid explanation for attempting to gut such an impactful program, suddenly announced that his wife will work with Parton’s team to keep the Imagination Library alive. While the gesture might sound well-meaning, critics are calling it exactly what it looks like — a photo-op dressed up as a solution. After all, the program didn’t need saving until Braun’s administration pulled the figurative rug out from under it. Democratic State Rep. Maureen Bauer’s take on the matter, describing the funding cut as a “disservice” and vowing that House Democrats would push to reinstate it.

Meanwhile, Parton — God bless her endlessly giving heart — isn’t letting the political circus dim her mission. Instead of weighing in on Indiana’s internal squabbles at this exact moment, she’s doing what she does best. One day after the potential cuts were announced, her team took to Instagram, encouraging parents to sign their kids up for the program. 

“Through funding provided by @DollyParton and local community partners… #ImaginationLibrary is dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by gifting FREE books to children.” Parents flooded the comment section with emotion. “Sadly, Indiana Governor Mike Braun has a proposal where this will be cut from state funding. I will be sad if this passes and children lose their books,” said one user. Another shared, “This is an AMAZING program ❤️ My daughter loved getting a book every month. We loved reading them together and she loves books ❤️ Thank You Imagination Library ❤️”

In a statement shared with Rolling Stone, Jeff Conyers, the Vice Chair and President of the Dollywood Foundation — which oversees the Imagination Library and programs like the Buddy Program, My People Fund, and various scholarship initiatives funded by one of Parton’s many programs — said he was “hopeful that Governor Braun and the Indiana Legislature will continue this vital investment by restoring the state’s funding match for local Imagination Library programs. The beauty of the Imagination Library is that it unites us all — regardless of politics — because every child deserves the chance to dream big and succeed.”

And so, here we are, watching a beloved and wildly successful program — one that sends free books to children — become a political pawn. It’s not just insulting; it’s lazy. What could be simpler than supporting an initiative that’s handed parents a lifeline and helped thousands of children discover the magic of words? 

Before you go, click here to see all the times Dolly Parton’s fabulous red carpet and onstage fashion stole the show.