Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, the Flagship Program of The Dollywood Foundation, and Fiber Broadband Association Team Up to Support Literacy Across the U.S.

This mutual effort draws on each organization’s focus on education, long-term community impact, and connecting people to a brighter future

Today at Fiber Connect 2025, during the Women in Fiber Luncheon, the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL) announced they are teaming up to support early literacy efforts nationwide. Through this alignment, FBA’s 600+ members are encouraged to help expand the reach of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library throughout every state, community, and home served.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is grounded in decades of research showing that reading physical books with children from birth helps develop language, promotes brain development, and strengthens family bonds. By mailing a high-quality, age-appropriate book to enrolled children every month from birth to age five, DPIL helps families build early reading routines and prepare children for kindergarten and life.

“From the day a child is born, reading physical books with their caregiver helps build language skills, nurtures family bonds, and lays the foundation for future learning, benefiting children, families, and communities for generations to come,” said Nell Withers McCauley, Program Director for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. “By encouraging support for the Imagination Library, the Fiber Broadband Association is helping bring this critical tool into the homes and hearts of more children.”

“The FBA and its member companies are focused on ensuring the digital divide is closed and the communities we serve have the digital literacy skills needed to thrive in the modern, connected economy,” said Ashley Travers, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, KGPCo and the FBA/DPIL Program Liaison. “FBA’s members are active participants in their local communities, and through this collaboration with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, we can help connect the people we serve to a brighter, more literate future.”

The Imagination Library Model:

• Each month, DPIL mails a brand-new, age-appropriate book to children from birth to age five, at no cost to families.
• Books delivered directly to the home help build routines that support brain development, bonding, and language and literacy acquisition.
• DPIL programs are managed by local partners across the U.S. who enroll children and promote the program to cover the cost of wholesale books and mailing.

DPIL’s approach to early literacy resonates with FBA’s longstanding commitment to strong, connected communities. With a focus on:

• Strengthening community connections by supporting literacy initiatives that improve educational outcomes and quality of life.
• Creating long-lasting impact by supporting early literacy, one of the strongest predictors of academic and career success, benefiting individuals and communities for generations.
• Enhancing visibility and engagement by increasing awareness of each organization’s commitment to community development and creating meaningful engagement with customers and employees.

Stay updated by subscribing to the Fiber Broadband Association’s weekly newsletter here. To learn more about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, click here.

About Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL) is a global literacy program dedicated to fostering a love of reading in children from birth to age five by mailing free, high-quality, age-appropriate books directly to their homes. Since its inception in 1995, DPIL has gifted over 270 million books to children across five countries. The program has a proven impact on early literacy, helping children develop stronger language skills, kindergarten readiness, and a lifelong love of reading. Learn more at Dolly Parton's Imagination Library | USA, UK, IE, CA, AU.

About the Fiber Broadband Association

The Fiber Broadband Association is the largest and only trade association that represents the complete fiber ecosystem of service providers, manufacturers, industry experts, and deployment specialists dedicated to the advancement of fiber broadband deployment and the pursuit of a world where communications are limitless, advancing quality of life and digital equity anywhere and everywhere. The Fiber Broadband Association helps providers, communities, and policymakers make informed decisions about how, where, and why to build better fiber broadband networks. Since 2001, these companies, organizations, and members have worked with communities and consumers in mind to build the critical infrastructure that provides the economic and societal benefits that only fiber can deliver. The Fiber Broadband Association is part of the Fibre Council Global Alliance, which is a platform of six global FTTH Councils in North America, LATAM, Europe, MEA, APAC, and South Africa. Learn more at fiberbroadband.org.

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