Dolly Parton is best known in her home state for being an immensely giving philanthropist, despite her global fame for her magnificent songs and bright personality. She has long been a champion for causes ranging from preschool reading to environmental protection, and she just got $100 million from billionaire Jeff Bezos to continue her humanitarian efforts in 2022.
Continue reading for a closer look at the “Jolene” singer-songwriter’s long charity legacy over the years.
What are some of Dolly Parton’s philanthropy and charity work?
Since the mid-1980s, Dolly Parton has supported numerous charity causes, most notably literacy, through her Dollywood Foundation. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a literacy program run by the Dollywood Foundation, was established in memory of her father, who never learned to read or write.
From the time of their birth until they start kindergarten, each enrolled child receives one book per month. Currently, over 1600 local communities throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Republic of Ireland distribute the Imagination Library to around 850,000 children each month.
In February 2018, she presented her 100 millionth free book to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., a copy of Parton’s children’s picture book Coat of Many Colors, and was honored by the Library of Congress for the “charity sending out its 100 millionth book.”
Parton has received numerous awards for her work in literacy, including the Association of American Publishers Honours Award (2000), the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval (2001) (the first time the seal had been awarded to a person), the American Association of School Administrators – Galaxy Award (2002), the National State Teachers of the Year – Chasing Rainbows Award (2002), and the Parents as Teachers National Centre – Child and Family Advocacy Award (2003).
Parton delivered the commencement address at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s College of Arts and Sciences graduation event on May 8, 2009. The institution awarded her an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters during the ceremony. It was only the university’s second honorary degree, and in presenting it, Chancellor Jimmy Cheek said, “Because of her career not only as a musician and entertainer, but also as a cultural ambassador, philanthropist, and lifelong advocate for education, it is fitting that she be honored with an honorary degree from her home state’s flagship educational institution.”
Dolly Parton released a cookbook, Dolly’s Dixie Fixin’s: Love, Laughter, and Lots of Good Food, in 2006.
The Dollywood Foundation, which is backed by Parton’s profits, has been credited with delivering jobs and tax income to a previously underserved area. Parton has also helped to collect funds for a variety of other organizations, including the American Red Cross and HIV/AIDS-related organizations.
In December 2006, Parton gave $500,000 towards a proposed $90 million hospital and cancer center in Sevierville named after her physician, Robert F. Thomas. She announced a benefit concert to help generate money for the project. The concert was attended by approximately 8,000 people. That same year, Emmylou Harris and she agreed to have their songs used in a PETA advertisement campaign encouraging pet owners to keep their dogs indoors rather than chained outside.
In September 2009, I attended the rededication ceremony for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with Tennessee Senator Bob Corker.
Her work to save the bald eagle through the American Eagle Foundation’s habitat at Dollywood earned her the US Fish and Wildlife Service Partnership Award in 2003. On November 8, 2007, Parton won the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service from the Smithsonian Institution’s Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars.
Parton was one of several country music singers who took part in a telethon to collect money for victims of the 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires. This was held on December 9 in Nashville. Furthermore, on December 13, Parton sponsored her own telethon for the victims, which reportedly raised around $9 million. Her “My People Fund” gave $1,000 a month for six months to over 900 families affected by the wildfires, eventually increasing to $5,000 for each home in the final month due to increased donations, for a total of $10,000 per family.
Parton was honored by the FBI in 2018 for her wildfire relief efforts, receiving the 2018 Director’s Community Leadership Award at a ceremony at FBI Headquarters in Washington. Director Christopher Wray awarded the honor, which was accepted on Parton’s behalf by David Dotson, CEO of the Dollywood Foundation.
Stacia West, a professor at the University of Tennessee College of Social Work, investigated the impact of the fund’s financial help for 2016 wildfire victims. In April 2017, West questioned 100 recipients of disaster relief funding on themes such as housing, financial impact, physical and emotional health, and sources of support, with a follow-up survey done in December 2017.
West discovered that, in conjunction with traditional disaster response, the “My People Fund” allowed families the flexibility to make decisions that were most advantageous to them, and concluded that unconditional cash support may be more useful for disaster relief than conditional financial support.
The monthly financial disbursements from the “My People Fund” had an impact on residents’ emergency savings, according to the report: “Following the monthly disbursements of unconditional cash assistance, participants were able to return to baseline financial stability reported prior to the wildfire, and improve their ability to set aside savings for hypothetical future emergencies.”
Parton has made significant contributions to Vanderbilt University Medical Centre (VUMC). Her donations included a donation to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt Paediatric Cancer Programme in memory of a friend, Professor Naji Abumrad, and her niece, Hannah Dennison, who was successfully treated for leukemia as a child at Children’s Hospital.
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
Categories: News
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
