Before They Said, “I Do!”
Singer-songwriter, Taylor Swift and athlete, Travis Kelce began their “married era” with an over-the-top event at Madison Square Garden on July 3rd. I haven’t read many details about the actual wedding, but I did learn about what they did a few days before their Big Day: they donated $26M to a variety of local and national charities!
Whether you’re a fan of the couple or not, it’s hard to criticize such a generous and thoughtful gift, one that helps advance charitable missions and supports vital community work. As someone who managed a small nonprofit for more than 20 years, I can tell you that each time a donor selected our organization to receive any amount of funds, it was encouraging, uplifting and inspired us to work even harder than we already were.
Taylor and Travis’ donation was directed to support food banks, education, animal welfare, and pediatric cancer care. One national group they also selected was Dolly Parton's Imagination Library - an organization that I’ve admired for years. Per their website, “Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by gifting books free of charge to children from birth to age five, through funding shared by Dolly Parton and local community partners.” The program has grown to serve five countries and gives millions of free books to children each month. Here in Nevada, there are active partners in both the southern and northern parts of our state.
As an aspiring children’s author, I’ve often thought it would be an honor to see one (or more) of my books land in the hands of emerging readers through this program. Without verbalizing this aspiration, it warmed my heart when one of my NICU nurse friends asked if it would be ok for her to reach out to Dolly Parton’s Foundation on my behalf. She, too, thought my books would be a perfect fit, for literacy and safety reasons. Since that conversation, I researched how to get my foot in the door (or in this case, my books in the library) and learned that it’s often a lengthy and challenging process. That’s ok. I’m going to pack my patience and give it a go anyway. [New Books by Jo goal loading]. Wish me luck.
A popular sentiment from Dolly Parton is, “If you see someone without a smile today, give them yours.” It fits perfectly with Taylor and Travis’ gesture as millions in need are about to enter their “smiling era” thanks to them, and Dolly.