But even before her death in late-August, a new community partnership was beginning to come together to help raise funds for the Imagination Library.

Last month, a press release was received from Ogden Pioneer Days Foundation Chairman Steve Handy about a partnership between the Ogden Pioneer Days Foundation, the Ogden School Foundation, the Weber School Foundation and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to provide books to area children.

“After 92 years of community-wide support, we decided as a foundation and committee that we wanted to give back,” Handy said in the press release. “One of our trustees knew of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library so we began soliciting the interest of the Ogden and Weber School Foundations last January.”

Handy told the Standard-Examiner that the foundation has worked with youth-serving groups such as the Boys & Girls Club of Weber-Davis, but was looking to branch out.

“One of our foundation members, Jodi Lunt, had worked with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and she said we ought to check into that,” he said. “So I started checking into it and found out how it works and that we needed a local partner and so we wanted to give back.”

It was at this point that Handy reached out to the foundations representing the Weber School District and Ogden School District.

Emily Oyler, executive director of the Weber School Foundation, told the Standard-Examiner that the partnership presented an exciting prospect.

“We are incredibly excited about this partnership and what it means for children and families throughout Weber County,” she said. “At Weber School Foundation, literacy has always been a priority because we know how important it is to a child’s success, both in school and in life. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is such a wonderful program because it introduces children to the joy of reading at a very young age. By providing free, age-appropriate books to children from birth to age five, we are helping families build home libraries and encouraging a love of reading long before children ever enter a classroom. This partnership is a great example of what can happen when community organizations come together with a shared goal of investing in our children and their futures.”

She said she loves seeing so many important organizations coming together for the cause.

“One of the things I appreciate most about our community is the willingness of organizations to come together and support something bigger than themselves,” she said. “The Ogden Pioneer Days Foundation has such a strong tradition of giving back to our community, and I think this is a beautiful way to continue that legacy. Their generosity is helping us invest in our youngest learners and giving children opportunities that can have an impact for the rest of their lives. I also love that this initiative brings together the Weber School Foundation, Ogden School Foundation, Operation Literacy, and the Ogden Pioneer Days Foundation. We all serve our community in different ways, but when we combine our resources and work toward a common goal, we can accomplish so much more.

Ogden School Foundation Executive Director Brynn Murdock told the Standard-Examiner about the role of the school foundations in the process.

“Through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, Operation Literacy is the statewide partner who’s kind of helping facilitate that,” she said. “As the school foundations, we are the ones helping raise the funds and get the funding submitted so that those books can be covered in Weber County. So we’re kind of helping be the fiscal agent for both gathering donations and then submitting them to cover those costs.”

Handy said thought the year the Ogden Pioneer Days Foundation received $30,000 in donations from various partners and another $1,000 from attendees at the 2026 Ogden Pioneer Days Rodeo for a total of nearly $31,000.

He said that they are almost ready to distribute the money that had been raised.

“We’ve just completed an MOU with the school foundations and with what’s called Operation Literacy who’s the other partner with the Imagination Library and we’re just waiting for them to invoice us and we will distribute funds so they can start getting used and buying books,” he said.

Handy said the partnership is set for at least three years and he’s hoping that next year will see even more raised to help with the Imagination Library.

“We’re going to continue this into 2027 and hoping to gain additional exposure,” he said. “One night at the rodeo, they had a booth. They gave out about 2,500 free books to people and educating people about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and just an amazing thing that she’s done.”

Anyone interested in donating to the partnership can do so by visiting the websites of the Ogden School Foundation or Weber School Foundation.