Dolly Parton - What Made Her Great
Segment #1018
Great character is doing something worthwhile when no one is watching—and expecting neither recognition nor credit.”
QUOTE: In 1988 Dolly Parton pulled every 7th and 8th grader in Sevier County into a room and told them to pick a buddy.
She made them sign a contract.. if BOTH graduate, she hands you both $500. One fails, nobody gets paid.
The county dropout rate went from 35% to 6%. She handed out the checks herself.
In 1989 she offered $500 to every kid in the county who wanted to go to the local college.
When Gatlinburg burned in 2016, she sent 900 families $1,000 a month for six months. You’ve probably heard that part. Here’s the part you haven’t: The fund raised more than expected, so she showed up in May and handed every one of those families another $5,000 on top. Then she quietly put $3 million into the recovery group that handles the years after the news trucks leave.
She built her county an entire hospital.
She played a benefit concert in 2007, Dollywood and the Stampede matched it, and LeConte Medical Center opened in 2010 with a birthing unit and a women’s center in it.
In 2022 she started covering 100% of tuition, books, and fees for Dollywood employees. Full-time, part-time, AND seasonal.
In 1991 she paid for a bald eagle sanctuary because the birds couldn’t be released back into the wild, no press release.
And when Hurricane Helene came through here in Western North Carolina, she wrote a personal check for $1 million and her companies matched it. She didn’t owe North Carolina anything, but she helped us anyway.
She started the Imagination Library because her daddy couldn’t read or write. Before he passed, he told her it was the most important thing she ever did.
Rest in Peace, Dolly
And More
She created the Imagination Library, which has given more than 300 million free books to young children worldwide.
She donated $1 million to COVID-19 research that helped support development of the Moderna vaccine. Vanderbilt Health
She established the My People Fund to provide direct financial assistance to families who lost their homes in the 2016 Tennessee wildfires.
She built Dollywood into an economic engine that created thousands of jobs in her native East Tennessee.
She founded the Dollywood Foundation to provide scholarships and educational opportunities for local students.
She donated generously to pediatric cancer research and treatment at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.
She used proceeds from her music to support children’s healthcare, including a special release for her 80th birthday. Vanderbilt Health
She turned her father’s inability to read into a worldwide campaign against childhood illiteracy.
She wrote enduring songs such as “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” “9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You.”
She gave working women an anthem with “9 to 5,” bringing workplace inequality into popular culture.
She rose from extreme Appalachian poverty without abandoning or exploiting the community that raised her.
She broke barriers for female performers by controlling her songs, career and business interests in a male-dominated industry.
She preserved Appalachian stories and musical traditions while introducing them to audiences around the world.
She consistently crossed political and cultural divisions by emphasizing kindness, dignity and common humanity.
Dolly Parton did more than become successful—she used her success to make millions of other lives better.