Dolly Parton launches nationwide Cup of Ambition coffee line to support children's literacy.

Dolly Parton’s long-planned Cup of Ambition coffee line launched nationwide on National Coffee Day, Sept. 29, fulfilling a brand idea she said she had pursued for more than 40 years. Created with family-owned Community Coffee and named for a lyric from Parton’s hit “9 to 5,” the range includes light, medium and dark roasts in ground coffee and pod formats. The launch featured a commercial Parton filmed before her death on Aug. 25, at age 80. Sales support her Imagination Library, and Community Coffee is helping fund the program’s return in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. Promotional tastings and a coffee trolley also marked the rollout in Nashville and other Tennessee locations.
Cup of Ambition had an earlier, limited debut at Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop in June or July, before the Sept. 29 nationwide rollout.
Parton filmed three commercials for the coffee in July; the first was released with the nationwide launch, showing her getting ready for the day and playing her bejeweled pink guitar.
The Imagination Library’s Lafayette Parish relaunch is intended to support early literacy: the local school superintendent said the program helps build language, vocabulary and literacy skills before children enter a classroom.
Community Coffee owner Donna Saurage said the partnership grew from shared commitments to family and community service, recalling that Parton had “a warmth that made you feel like you’d known her forever.”
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