Dolly Parton’s legacy includes a major contribution to early childhood literacy, despite her not having children of her own. Her Imagination Library provides free books each month to more than three million children aged five and under around the world, encouraging reading from an early age.
An essay published by Psychology Today presents Parton as an example of how people without children can contribute to their communities. It also argues that childless and childfree adults often support others through charitable donations, volunteer work and estate giving.
The article cites research by Russell James, a professor of charitable financial planning at Texas Tech, covering the period from 1992 to 2012. In that study, 50 percent of people who died without children left money to philanthropic organizations, compared with 17.1 percent of those who had children.
The author says that, despite this giving, people without children have few ways to coordinate their philanthropy on a larger scale. The essay describes a well-attended event organized before the COVID-19 pandemic for women donors without children. It led to new donor-advised funds and connections among participants, but no follow-up event had taken place at the time of writing.
The author also describes volunteering in primary-grade classrooms to help children with reading and writing, and says a personal donor-advised fund will support early childhood literacy. The essay frames Parton’s work as an example of how people without children can build a meaningful legacy through support for others and their communities.
Sources: Psychology Today.