The late Dolly Parton is undoubtedly a country music legend. She holds eleven world records, some of which include: most hits on the US Hot Country Songs chart by a female artist (113), most No.1 hits on the US Hot Country Songs chart by a female artist (25), most Grammy nominations for a female country artist (55), and most decades with a Top 20 hit on the US Hot Country Songs chart by any gender (7).
But music is not where her legacy ends; in fact, it’s just the beginning. Dolly spent her career giving back to her community, advocating for equality, and working to make the world a better place in ways that truly mattered to her.
“I think as a celebrity, when you get in a position to help, you should. But you should also actually invest in things that are personal to you that you can be passionate about.”
Dolly Parton
Education & literacy
Dolly Parton started the Dollywood Foundation in 1988 to help children from Sevier County, Tennessee (her home county) succeed academically. Early efforts of the foundation focused on lowering dropout rates by offering financial incentives to finish high school. This led to the dropout rate among two classes in the county high school decreasing from 35% to just 6%.
In 1995, the Dollywood Foundation launched Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, to provide free books to children aged 0-5. It started in Sevier County, but has since expanded to serve 5 countries worldwide and has donated over 300 million books. Her dedication to literacy was inspired by her own father, Robert Lee Parton Sr., who never learned how to read or write.
The Dollywood Foundation now offers five scholarships to Sevier County’s high school seniors to help them attend university. The Dolly Parton Scholarship is a $15,000 award given annually to one senior from each high school in the county. Students are chosen based on their dreams, their commitment to achieving their dreams, and their display of character and determination.
“I just give from my heart. I never know what I’m going to do or why I’m gonna do it. I just see a need and if I can fill it, then I will.”
Dolly Parton
Disaster Relief
After the 2016 Great Smoky Mountain Wildfires, Dolly started the My People Fund, which donates $1000 a month for up to six months to families in Servier County who lost their homes in the fires.
When Hurricane Helene hit the east coast in 2024, Dolly Parton and her organizations donated more than $2 million to relief efforts. These funds helped the non-profit organization Mountain Ways provide $5000 in aid to over 500 families with destroyed homes.
Medical funding
During the Covid-19 Pandemic, Dolly Parton announced via Instagram that she was donating $1 million to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. This contribution helped to develop the Moderna Vaccine, which was administered to more than 200 million people.
Just two years later, Vanderbilt University Medical Center received another $1 million donation from Dolly towards pediatric infectious diseases research. She made this donation in honor of her niece, who was treated for leukemia at Vanderbilt’s Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital successfully.
Social advocacy
Throughout her career, Dolly Parton was a strong advocate for racial, gender, and sexual equality.
Dolly has invested all of her royalties from Whitney Houston’s cover of her song “I Will Always Love You” into supporting the Nashville Black community, and in 2020, she publicly shared her support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
She has also been a significant ally to the LGBTQ+ community, using her voice and her money to stand up against homophobia, transphobia, and other forms of discrimination.
Dolly has touched the lives of millions in so many more ways than music. She never allowed money nor fame to erase her roots in the rurals of Tennessee. Her story represents what it means to give back and stay true. She fiercely advocated for her beliefs, and always put her money where her mouth was. Dolly has set the standard for celebrity philanthropy and it is now up to us to follow in her footsteps; so be inspired and Be More.
If you’re interested in supporting her philanthropic efforts, you can donate to Dolly Parton’s Imagination library here: https://donate.imaginationlibrary.com/ and Give the Gift of Reading!
“Dream More, Learn More, Care More & Be More.”
Dolly Parton motto