Dolly Parton Day

How Serve Aurora started Dolly Parton Day in Colorado

Serve Aurora led the community effort to establish September 25 as Dolly Parton Appreciation Day in Colorado.

• Proclamation date: September 25, 2026, officially proclaimed by Colorado Governor Jared Polis, with Mayor Mike Coffman proclaiming Dolly Parton Day in the City of Aurora.
• Why 9/25: The date was chosen as a play on "9/25" to honor Dolly Parton's iconic workplace anthem "9 to 5."
• Submitted: August 26, 2026, the day after Dolly Parton's passing, by Serve Aurora founders Alexander Lee LoCicero Campbell Nieves and Jeremiah Nathaniel Banks.
• Core focus: Honoring Dolly Parton's contributions to music, community service, philanthropy and children's literacy through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.

See the announcements: Instagram reel, Instagram post, Instagram post and Facebook.

A movement across the country

Serve Aurora led the way. On August 26, 2026, the day after Dolly Parton's passing, Serve Aurora listened to the community and submitted its proclamation request to the City of Aurora to make 9/25 a day to honor her. In the weeks that followed, states and cities across the country followed Serve Aurora's footprint with their own 9/25 proclamations, turning the effort Serve Aurora led in Colorado into a national celebration and making our footprint even greater. On or around September 25, 2026, leaders across the United States made the same proclamation:

• Colorado: Governor Jared Polis, Dolly Parton Appreciation Day
• Aurora, Colorado: Mayor Mike Coffman, Dolly Parton Day
• California: Governor Gavin Newsom, Dolly Parton Day, now set by state law every year
• Texas: Governor Greg Abbott, Dolly Parton Day
• Ohio: Governor Mike DeWine, Dolly Parton Day
• Alabama: Governor Kay Ivey, Dolly Day
• North Carolina: Governor Josh Stein, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Day of Reading
• Oklahoma: Governor Kevin Stitt, Dolly Parton Day
• Montana: Governor Greg Gianforte, Dolly Parton Day
• Oregon: Governor Tina Kotek, Dolly Parton Day
• Seattle, Washington: City Council, Dolly Parton Day
• Hays County, Texas: Commissioners Court, Dolly Parton Day

An update on the Imagination Library of Aurora

We are sad to share that Serve Aurora is not able to start the Imagination Library of Aurora at this time.

To become a local affiliate, the program asked us to commit up to $200,000 a year in funding from the start. Our plan was to begin small and grow the program over time as our support grew, but that approach was not an option. We are grateful to everyone who encouraged this effort, and we will keep supporting literacy and families in Aurora in other ways.

Families can still check whether free books are available in their area at imaginationlibrary.com.

How to celebrate

• Read a book with a child
• Do one act of kindness, "9 to 5"
• Join our Dolly Day events