When Kurtis Hamel was 12 years old, the Children's Wish Foundation helped him meet his idol Dolly Parton.

Now, 30 years later, the teacher is combining his love of Parton and his passion for early childhood literacy. Hamel is working to bring one of the singer's philanthropic projects to Prince Albert, Sask.

From a young age, Hamel was in and out of hospitals due to a severe and life-threatening kidney illness. So in 1990, the Children's Wish Foundation sent him to Parton and Kenny Rogers' concert in Saskatoon with backstage passes.

"It was pretty impressive. I was super excited. Even looking back on it 30 years ago, I still remember it like it was yesterday," said Hamel.

"People say this all the time when they meet her … what you see is what you get. She is a genuinely down to earth person. And as she says herself, there's some brains beneath the wig. She is really a really wonderful person."

When Kurtis Hamel was 12-years-old, the Children’s Wish Foundation helped him meet his idol Dolly Parton. Now the Prince Albert teacher is paying back her kindness to him by working to bring one of her literacy projects for pre-kindergarten children to local classrooms. 7:29

Hamel got to meet Parton again a few months later when the foundation sent him to the musician's theme park, Dollywood.

Now a high school teacher, Hamel said he still loves Parton because of her rags-to-riches story and her philanthropy. He said she does a lot of amazing work behind the scenes that often goes unrecognized. One of those things is the Imagination Library.

Kurtis Hamel meets with Dolly Parton for the second time during his Children's Wish Foundation visit to Dollywood in 1990. (Submitted by Kurtis Hamel )

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is a free book-gifting program that the iconic musician began in 1995 in her home of Sevier County in Tennessee. She wanted to help bring literacy rates up in the area.

Over the years the program grew. It came to Canada in 2005. Each month, enrolled children receive quality, age-appropriate books in the mail for free.

Hamel and lawyer Estelle Hjertaas are working to establish an Imagination Library chapter in Prince Albert.

Kurtis Hamel is a high school teacher from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. (Submitted by Kurtis Hamel )

A head start

Hamel said early childhood literacy is important to him because, as a high school teacher, he knows that children who learn to read early have increased success with school in the later grades.

He said he has students in his high school who still struggle with reading and comprehension and that Saskatchewan has populations who read well below their grade levels.

"We know that success in school really is built on the foundation of strong literacy skills. And so if you can get kids interested in reading and enjoying reading before they hit school, that's going to help them throughout their whole school career."

Thirty years later, Kurtis Hamel still loves Dolly Parton as much as he did as a 12 year-old boy. Here he is posing in front of a statue of the iconic singer in her hometown of Sevier County, Tennessee. (Submitted by Kurtis Hamel)

That's where Dolly Parton's Imagination Library comes in.

"Every child from birth to [age] five will get a book every month so that by the time they hit kindergarten, they will have had 60 books in their hands either read to them, or they will have begun to read themselves."

Hamel and Hjertaas are looking for volunteers to help launch the Prince Albert chapter, along with sponsorships and donations from organizations so that any child can get free books from the program.

"Ideally I would love to see a couple of big sponsors in Prince Albert that would commit to some long-term funding," Hamel said.