A truly amazing woman that knew no boundaries has earned a place in history all around the world this week! We are forever grateful to Dolly Parton, who gave so much devoted service to her family, worldwide fans, and her beloved mountain community!
Growing up poor in the Great Smoky Mountains established an important foundation that she never forgot as she remained humble throughout her life. Her family raised her in faith and music that took her from church to the Grand Ole Opry, where her talent and hard work made her a star. Her powerful singing and songwriting resonated with generations because they spoke honestly about the joys, struggles, heartbreaks, and hopes that are part of everyday life.
Dolly’s unique country style helped her earn millions of dollars through hit songs, albums, and concerts. Her worldwide fame gained her many awards, including Grammy Awards and recognition from the Country Music Association. Dolly’s ability to connect with people through her music not only made her a lasting icon in the music industry, but she also expanded business ventures to so much more.
Her remarkable story is about how a business became a way to create opportunities, strengthen a community, and give back to the people who helped shape her. Dolly’s hometown area of Eastern Tennessee in the Southern Appalachians has benefited immensely from the Dollywood Foundation! Her ventures not only created jobs for over 20,000 people but, programs that encouraged education and literacy around the world.
The Dollywood Foundation started as the Buddy Program in Sevier County, TN, to help drop-out rates, and as its success developed, college scholarships were given for high school students to continue their education. The creation of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library developed regionally and then expanded its reach enormously with their approved “Local Library Partners” to not only the US but four additional countries. The program has reported over 300 million books have been distributed to children since 1995 without a cost to the families.
Her generosity has also spread to the Great Smoky Mountains when wildfires devastated Gatlinburg in 2016 with over 2 billion in damage to approximately 2,400 homes and businesses that were completely destroyed by fire. Dolly again came to the rescue, hosting her own telethon and raising a reported 9 million to help over 900 families for six months that were directly affected by the disaster.
She has endlessly given to hospitals such as Vanderbilt University Medical Center, children’s hospitals, vaccines, and charities towards AIDS relief.
Dolly Parton also showed tremendous compassion for families affected by Hurricane Helene in 2024. She personally donated 1 million to the Mountain Ways Foundation & an additional 1 million from the Dollywood Foundation. The money was used to provide immediate assistance to families in the mountains of Appalachia in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee whose homes were destroyed by the catastrophic flooding, as well as to support longer-term recovery efforts.
Dolly Parton was considered an angel on Earth, as her faith and life truly strived for the “highroads way of life” that we are blessed to have in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.
If you would like to keep that caring culture of giving back and want to donate to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, please visit: https://donate.imaginationlibrary.com/
