Dolly Parton's beloved literacy mission sees surge of support after country icon's death

Dolly Parton's legacy of putting books into the hands of children is receiving a surge of support in Alabama after the country music icon's death, with hundreds of residents backing a specialty license plate that would help fund her Imagination Library across the state.

Parton died Tuesday at age 80.

Beyond a career that produced classics, including "Jolene," "9 to 5" and "I Will Always Love You," Parton built an extensive philanthropic legacy, the Imagination Library being one of her signature initiatives.

Kaelyn Christian, Alabama state director for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, told Fox News Digital the proposed plate had roughly 40 commitments at the beginning of the week but had surged to more than 550 as of Wednesday afternoon, putting it more than halfway toward the 1,000 needed for the plate to go into production.

DOLLY PARTON OFFERED TO TRY EXPERIMENTAL DRUGS IF ‘NO HOPE’ FOR CANCER BATTLE TO HELP OTHERS, SISTER SAYS "It's exploded over the last 24 hours really," Christian said.

"It's been amazing," she continued.

"If you had asked me last week if I thought we would make a thousand, I would have said I'm not sure.

But now I'm really confident I think that we'll hit that 1,000 mark." Christian said roughly $50 from each plate would go back to the Imagination Library program in the Alabama county where the vehicle is registered.

Drivers would pay the fee annually, creating an ongoing source of support for local programs and an easy way to "almost set up a recurring donation to your local Imagination Library," she said.

Parton launched the Imagination Library in 1995 in honor of her father, who never had the opportunity to learn to read or write.

Registered children receive a free book every month until they turn 5, with children enrolled from birth eligible to receive up to 60 books.

DOLLY PARTON’S SIX-DECADE LOVE STORY WITH CARL DEAN BEGAN AT A LAUNDROMAT Since the program's founding, more than 300 million books have been shared around the world.

Christian said about 114,000 Alabama children are enrolled in the program, and registrations had also "gone crazy in the last 24 hours." She said the money generated by one specialty plate would cover the cost of providing books to two children every month for almost two years, or roughly 48 books.

Beyond the numbers, Christian said part of Parton's legacy can be found in children growing up excited to find a new book in their mailbox every month.