$5,000 Match Challenge to Support Warren County Children on Give Like Dolly Day

In celebration of the first annual Dollywood Foundation’s Give Like Dolly Day on  September 25, the Warren Coalition announces a matching gift of up to $5,000 to support HALO (Helping All  Little Ones) Read, Warren County’s local Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program partner, which provides  monthly books to more than 400 children in Warren County.

Dolly Parton founded the Imagination Library in 1995 in honor of her father, who could not read or write. The program provides registered children from birth to age five with a free, age-appropriate book mailed directly to their homes each month. Local program affiliates like the Warren Coalition raise funds and build community support to cover the cost of mailing the books.

“Dolly understood that something as simple as putting a book into a child’s hands can change a life,” said Warren Coalition’s Celeste Brooks. Locally, the Town of Front Royal recognizes September 25 as Dollars for Dolly Day, and is launching a community-wide initiative encouraging residents to honor Dolly’s example of generosity by supporting causes meaningful to them.

The giving initiative will extend beyond September 25 through DollarsForDolly.com, a website sponsored by the Rotary Club of the Northern Shenandoah Valley and launching on Friday, September 25. Both the website and the broader Dollars for Dolly campaign will highlight the $5,000 HALO Read match, along with other local fundraising efforts inspired by Dolly Parton’s legacy, and will continue through Giving Tuesday on December 1, 2026.

Rotary has a connection to the Imagination Library’s presence in Warren County. In 2020, an $18,000 Rotary District 7570 matching grant helped bring the program back to the community through a collaborative effort among the Rotary Clubs of Front Royal, Warren County and the Northern Shenandoah Valley, in partnership with the Warren Coalition and Warren County Public Schools.

Beth Medved Waller spearheaded that effort as a charter member and former president of the Rotary Club of the Northern Shenandoah Valley. She is personally funding the $5,000 match as part of the Rotary-supported effort, in recognition of her longtime passion for the Imagination Library and in gratitude for the real estate clients whose trust makes her charitable giving possible.

“I’m honored to be part of this Dolly-inspired effort to raise funds for a program I first learned about on the day my son was born—which, coincidentally, was September 25, 2003,” Waller said. “Some of my favorite memories are of reading Imagination Library books at bedtime with my kids.”

“You don’t have to make a large donation to make a difference,” Waller added. “Give $5. Give $9.25 in honor of September 25. Give $25. Give whatever you can, and invite friends to do the same. When dollars are joined together, dreams can come true in the lives of children here and beyond.”

Community members may donate directly to HALO Read at HALORead.com. Donations will be matched dollar-for-dollar by Waller until the $5,000 matching commitment has been reached.

Through DollarsForDolly.com, local nonprofits and community organizations can register their efforts, and residents can discover participating causes and follow links directly to each organization’s official donation page.

Dollars for Dolly does not collect or process donations. Dollars for Dolly Day launches September 25, “Give Like Dolly Day” and continues locally through Giving Tuesday, December 1.

HOW TO HELP

• Learn about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library: ImaginationLibrary.com
• Donate to Warren County’s Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library through HALO Read program: HALORead.com
• Learn about continued donations through December 1, 2026: DollarsForDolly.com

HALO Read is administered by the Warren Coalition and provides enrolled Warren County children from birth through age five with one free, age-appropriate book mailed directly to their home each month. All donations go to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.