Taking a leaf from Dolly Parton's book

Not many people know that country singer Dolly Parton who died on August 25, 2026, was a member of Rotary. Even fewer, perhaps, will know that she spent millions of dollars buying books to increase literacy – one of the areas of focus of Rotary International.

Bradgate Rotary are committed to helping achieve that aim in our part of Leicestershire.

The club has signed up to an initiative called Books4Home which has already resulted in 230,000 children in Staffordshire, Shropshire and the West Midlands receiving free books. In the school year which ended in July, the club, with help of donors, distributed around 500 books to Martinshaw Primary School in Groby and The Latimer Primary School in Anstey.
 

Local children whose literacy improves as a result of reading more will have a lasting benefit which will help them in their studies and future careers.

According to the National Literacy Trust, children's enjoyment of reading is at an all-time low, with an acute decline among primary-aged children. 

To read more about Dolly Parton's contribution to the world... and Rotary... please follow this link