How a Dolly Parton concert and a local bank brought millions of books to South Dakota children

This paid piece is sponsored by The First National Bank in Sioux Falls.

The First National Bank in Sioux Falls gives back to local communities in three primary ways: time, talent and treasure.

The bank and its team offer their collective time to help those who need it, talents to serve those who will benefit most and treasure to support the causes they’re passionate about.

A particularly memorable volunteer experience came in 2002, thanks to the generosity of one country music icon.

Ready to Read

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is one of the greatest childhood literacy programs ever.

It’s a book-gifting program that sends free books monthly to kids from birth to age 5.

To date, it has mailed almost 130 million books — and, because of First National Bank’s collaboration in 2002, more than 2 million have been to kids in South Dakota.

Before 2002, the Imagination Library program hadn’t launched in South Dakota. Because Bill Baker, then-president and CEO of First National Bank, was chairing United Way’s “2002 Ready to Read” campaign, the community bank saw it as an opportunity to promote reading not only to kids in the Sioux Falls area but also throughout the state.

Dolly Parton grew up impoverished in the hills of East Tennessee.

No matter how humble, she had grand dreams — as, she believes, every child does.

For her part, she says, “The seeds of these dreams are often found in books, and the seeds you help plant in your community can grow across the world.”

Dolly wanted kids to have great books in their home, regardless of their economic situation.

This vision married perfectly with what First National Bank saw for the children of local communities.

So the next question was, how on earth would they raise the money it would take to launch the program in South Dakota?

That’s when Bill wrote Dolly a personal letter asking, “Will you help us raise money to do a statewide launch of Imagination Library by donating a performance at our Washington Pavilion?”

She had just launched an album and actually would be passing through on a massive tour.

So she replied: “Yes! But I’ll have a big production crew with me, and it’ll be about $40,000 to cover just the cost of us coming to perform.”

“Done. We’ll see you soon,” Bill said.

You see, there were only two weeks to secure the money and get people rallied to attend the performance.

So Bill immediately picked up the phone and called his best friends. Within two weeks, the concert was sold out, and the fundraising money was secured to launch the Imagination Library.

Dolly performed the night of Sept. 4, 2002, and it was spectacular.

She put on a knockout show that the Argus Leader called the best concert of the year.

Bill Baker and family pose for a picture with Dolly Parton the night of the concert.

Between sponsorships, grants and ticket sales, the concert raised more than $250,000 to fund the successful launch of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library statewide through every local United Way chapter in South Dakota.

From the fundraising account, Bill wrote one last check in the amount of $40,000 to Dolly Parton Productions, sent it off and then settled back into life.

Books started arriving for the kids every month, and the program was in full swing.

Meanwhile, Christmas rolled around, and the check to Dolly still hadn’t cleared.

Just as Bill was going to look into it, he got a letter from her. It contained the uncashed check and a handwritten note that read: “I’ve covered the band. Give the money to the kids for books.”

That fall, magic happened at the Washington Pavilion.

Not simply for entertainment, but for the children of South Dakota.

Dolly Parton’s program and heart have beamed brightly ever since, bringing inspiration to the minds of thousands of kids. And for First National Bank, it was one of those moments when time stands still for a moment and everything comes full circle.

It was beautiful to see Dolly Parton performing in the very performance center the bank knew could be created to anchor the growth of downtown Sioux Falls.

As she and her band stood on that stage, they proved the value of stewardship and investment in communities.

It’s so worthwhile to be a creator and community builder, and First National Bank has doubled down on this role with each passing year by giving of time, talent and treasure.

To learn more about the surprising history of The First National Bank in Sioux Falls, check out the rest of this series!