Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean hailed proudly from the town of Pittman Center in Sevier County, Tennessee, and in the course of her abundant life crossed many boundaries. A songwriter, performer, actress, philanthropist, humorist, celebrity, amusement park founder and downhome gal who in later life said that she only wanted to be known as “The Book Lady,” Dolly Parton was a great unifier of people across the United States and around the planet.

In addition to her other charity work (which is estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars), Dolly Parton built bridges to the blind community. Since 2011, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has partnered with American Printing House for the Blind to provide free copies of accessible-format books to young children who are blind and low vision. Read more about it.