Philanthropy and advocacy of Dolly Parton

Lore & Background

In 1988, Parton founded the non-profit Dollywood Foundation to improve educational outcomes among children in Sevier County, Tennessee. Its Buddy Program paired seventh- and eighth-grade students to support each other in staying in school; the dropout rate among participating classes fell from 35% to 6%. In 1995, she founded Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in honor of her father, mailing one book per month to enrolled children from birth until kindergarten. By February 2018, the program had donated its 100 millionth book. In February 2025, Indiana governor Mike Braun declined to continue a state 50% match for the program, though his wife was tasked with finding ways to keep it alive.

Parton donated $500,000 toward a proposed hospital and cancer center in Sevierville in 2006, and made undisclosed donations to East Tennessee Children's Hospital, later renamed the Dolly Parton Children's Hospital. In April 2020, she donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for COVID-19 research, funding early stages of the Moderna vaccine. She was publicly vaccinated in March 2021 and donated an additional $1 million to VUMC's Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases in June 2022.

Following the 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires, Parton hosted a telethon raising around $9 million. Her 'My People Fund' provided $1,000 per month for six months to over 900 families, with a final $5,000 payment, totaling $10,000 per family. The FBI honored her in 2018 with the Director's Community Leadership Award for this aid.

Reader's Guide

Dolly Parton's philanthropy is notable for its sustained focus on education and literacy, healthcare, and disaster relief, primarily in her native East Tennessee. The Dollywood Foundation's Buddy Program demonstrated measurable success in reducing dropout rates, while the Imagination Library has expanded internationally, mailing books to nearly 850,000 children monthly across the U.S., Canada, the UK, Australia, and Ireland. Her healthcare contributions include funding early COVID-19 vaccine research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, which supported the development of the Moderna vaccine, and donations to children's hospitals. The 'My People Fund' after the 2016 wildfires provided unconditional cash assistance to over 900 families, with a University of Tennessee study concluding such support may be more beneficial than conditional aid. Her work has been recognized by organizations including the FBI, the Library of Congress, and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals.

Did You Know?

• Parton's Imagination Library was founded in 1995 in honor of her father, who never learned to read or write.
• Her $1 million donation to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in April 2020 funded early stages of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
• The 'My People Fund' after the 2016 wildfires provided $10,000 per family over six months to over 900 families.