02/09/2026
Last week, the world lost the incomparable Dolly Parton.
Among her many extraordinary achievements, one of her greatest legacies is the Imagination Library, which she founded in 1995. Since then, it has gifted more than 300 million books to children around the world—opening imaginations, nurturing a love of reading and giving children opportunities that can last a lifetime.
While New Zealand isn’t currently included in the Imagination Library programme, we are fortunate to have a wonderful local charity working towards the same goal. The Story Store Trust — Te Manu Māutauranga — was founded by a former school librarian, who has spent decades helping children expand their worlds through reading.
The Trust collects excellent-quality pre-loved children’s books and provides them, free of charge, to under-resourced school libraries across New Zealand. It is a small charity making a very real difference—and one that Dream Childcare is proud to support.
If you would like to help: 📚 Donations can be made through The Story Store Trust’s Givealittle page:�https://givealittle.co.nz/org/the-story-store-trust
📚 If you’re Auckland-based and have good-quality children’s books that your family has loved but no longer reads, please get in touch with Dream and we would be very happy to arrange collection.
What better way to honour Dolly’s remarkable legacy than by helping more children discover the joy—and the possibilities—found inside a book. 🤍 https://givealittle.co.nz/org/the-story-store-trust/updates/18500b74