First Lady DeWine Welcomes Zac Brown to Ohio
(COLUMBUS, Ohio)— Ohio First Lady Fran DeWine welcomed special guest country music legend Zac Brown to the 2025 First Lady’s Luncheon.
The third First Lady’s Luncheon supported Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio, a statewide nonprofit that mails a free monthly book to children between birth and age five. This program was brought statewide to Ohio in 2019 under the guidance of First Lady DeWine.
During the luncheon, Zac Brown highlighted his personal connection to Dolly Parton, including his newly released song “Butterfly” featuring Dolly Parton.
He also shared his passion for projects, such as his Camp Southern Ground and the Hop On A Cure Foundation, dedicated to ALS research funding. Camp Southern Ground in Fayetteville, Georgia, is a nonprofit established in 2011 by Brown, and offers summer camp programming for children, along with several programs for veterans. Brown also spoke about his involvement with Hop On A Cure Foundation, which aims to accelerate research to find a cure to ALS.
Like Brown, First Lady DeWine’s family has also been impacted by ALS.
Brown not only provided entertainment at the luncheon, but also offered his support for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio by donating a signed guitar, which was put up for auction.
At the luncheon, First Lady DeWine announced a new statewide initiative designed to enroll more Ohio children immediately after birth in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio. Ohio is the first state in the nation to include enrollment information about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program in Ohio’s birth certificate paperwork process. By enrolling at birth, newborns receive the complete collection of free books the program has to offer before turning five years old.
“Research has shown that 80% of a child’s brain is developed by age three, so we want to get books into the home as early as possible in order to have the most impact. I am thrilled to announce that now, as part of the Ohio birth certificate process, moms and dads will learn about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio and have the chance to sign up at the hospital before they head home with their newborn. One simple checkmark will give Ohio’s little ones a great start in life!”
Imagination Library books have been available to newborns, but through this new enrollment initiative, more families will know that this program is available to them in the very first few days that their child is eligible to sign up. Enrollment at birth will result in more young children receiving the complete collection – all 60 books – the Imagination Library offers. Opting into the program results in one age-appropriate book mailed to the child’s home every month until he or she turns five years old.
—
Organized in 2021, the Ohio First Lady’s Charitable Foundation is a non-profit organization focused on raising awareness and financial support for the First Lady of Ohio’s philanthropic endeavors. The foundation hosted the 2023 Ohio First Lady’s Luncheon to raise awareness and financial support for organizations that provide food to Ohio families. At the inaugural First Lady’s Luncheon in 2022, proceeds supported Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio.