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Give Like Dolly Day: Ten Years of Free Books in Borrego Springs
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September 25 is Give Like Dolly Day. In Borrego Springs it arrives in the tenth year of free books landing in local mailboxes — one child, one month, one book at a time.
This September 25, BASIC is proud to join #GiveLikeDolly, a new annual tradition from The Dollywood Foundation celebrating Dolly Parton’s lifelong commitment to helping children dream big and develop a love of reading.
It is a national day. What it marks in Borrego Springs is local and specific: for ten years, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has been active in this community, bringing the joy of books and reading directly into the homes of local children. No fee, no library card, no trip out of the valley. A book with the child’s own name on the envelope, every month, until the month they turn five.
- The day
- Friday, September 25, 2026
- In Borrego since
- 2015 — ten years
- Enrolled today
- 82 children
- Who can join
- Birth through age 5
Ten years of books in the mail
A child enrolled at birth and kept enrolled to their fifth birthday receives as many as sixty books before the first day of kindergarten — a home library built a month at a time, by mail, in a town with no bookstore. Eighty-two Borrego Springs children are on that list right now.
We are proud to continue supporting Dolly’s vision and helping young children develop a love of reading from their earliest years.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Borrego Springs
- 10
- years active in this community
- 82
- children enrolled today
- 12
- books a year, mailed to the home
- $0
- cost to the family, always
And it doesn’t stop at the mailbox
Through BASIC’s Free Book Table at the Borrego Springs Library, children and families can stop by, choose books to take home, and keep building their own love of reading — completely free. Picture books and chapter books, English and Spanish, no sign-out and nothing to bring back.
The table is also an Imagination Library registration point. Families will find the program information there and a QR code to scan, and any child from birth through age five can be signed up on the spot to start receiving a free book in the mail every month.
- Stop byThe Free Book Table in the Borrego Springs Library lobby.
- Scan the codeThe bilingual flyer signs up any child from birth through age five.
- Take books homeChoose from the table today — no card, no fee, nothing to return.
- Watch the mailA book with the child’s name on it, every month, until they turn five.
We are especially grateful to the Borrego Springs Library for providing this community space and helping us make free books and Imagination Library information more accessible to local families.
Every book is a chance to read together, make a family moment, spark imagination, and help a child discover the joy of reading.
Three ways to give like Dolly
This Give Like Dolly Day we invite our community to join us in giving back — whether by supporting local literacy efforts, sharing the joy of reading with a child, or helping us spread the word about the Imagination Library.
- Enroll a child
- Know a Borrego Springs family with a child under five? Every one of them qualifies. Sign up at the Free Book Table, or write to us and we will walk you through it.
- Give
- Books, postage and the local program that keeps it running are paid for here at home. A gift of any size puts books in the mail.
- Tell someone
- The families who need this most are often the ones who have not heard of it. Share this page, or the table’s QR code, with one family.
Today we also celebrate and thank our families, community partners, donors, volunteers and supporters who continue to make this work possible in Borrego Springs. Together we can continue Dolly’s beautiful legacy of helping children Dream More, Learn More, Care More, and Be More.™
Put a book in a Borrego mailbox
Ten years, eighty-two children, and room for every one of the next ones. Give on Give Like Dolly Day, or sign up a child from birth through age five.
Donate to BASIC Early Literacy at BASIC