Editing Dolly Parton (section)

==Philanthropy==
Since the mid-1980s, Parton has supported many charitable efforts, particularly in the area of literacy, primarily through her [[Dollywood Foundation]].
Her literacy program, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library,<ref name="imagination">[http://www.imaginationlibrary.com Dolly Parton's Imagination Library], imaginationlibrary.com; accessed February 21, 2019.</ref> which is a part of the Dollywood Foundation, was founded in honor of her father, who never learned to read or write.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dolly Parton Book Donation backstory {{!}} Shutterbulky.com |date=February 5, 2022 |url=https://www.shutterbulky.com/dolly-parton/}}</ref> It mails one book per month to each enrolled child from the time of their birth until they enter kindergarten. Currently, over 1600 local communities provide the Imagination Library to almost 850,000 children each month across the U.S., Canada, the UK, Australia, and the Republic of Ireland.<ref name="imagination"/> In February 2018, she donated her 100 millionth free book, a copy of Parton's children's picture book ''Coat of Many Colors'', to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/feb/28/dolly-parton-gives-100-millionth-free-book-to-children|title=Dolly Parton gives 100 millionth free book to children|first=Ben|last=Beaumont-Thomas|date=February 28, 2018|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> and was honored by the Library of Congress on account of the "charity sending out its 100 millionth book".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/reliable-source/wp/2018/02/27/dolly-parton-likes-to-give-away-books-she-just-donated-her-100-millionth/|title=Dolly Parton likes to give away books. She just donated her 100 millionth.|last=Andrews-Dyer|first=Helena|date=February 27, 2018|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=March 4, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> 

In February 2025, Indiana governor [[Mike Braun]] declined to support a state 50% match for Parton's Imagination Library. Dollywood Foundation President Jeff Conyers said, "We are hopeful that Governor Braun and the Indiana Legislature will continue this vital investment by restoring the state's funding match for local Imagination Library programs."<ref >[https://www.thedailybeast.com/dolly-parton-calls-out-indiana-gov-over-plan-to-dump-her-imagination-library/ Dolly Parton Calls Out Indiana Gov Over Plan to Dump Her Imagination Library], ''[[Daily Beast]]'', Nandika Chatterjee, February 20, 2025. Retrieved March 4, 2025.</ref> Braun would soon afterwards task his wife Maureen with finding ways to keep the Imagination Library's Indiana chapter alive.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Brandon |title=Governor tasks First Lady Maureen Braun to keep Dolly Parton Imagination Library alive in Indiana |url=https://indianapublicradio.org/news/2025/02/governor-tasks-first-lady-maureen-braun-to-keep-dolly-parton-imagination-library-alive-in-indiana/ |access-date=4 March 2025 |work=Indiana Public Radio |date=21 February 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

For her work in literacy, Parton has received various awards, including [[Association of American Publishers]] Honors Award (2000), [[Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval]] (2001) (the first time the seal had been awarded to a person), [[American Association of School Administrators]]{{snd}}Galaxy Award (2002), National State Teachers of the Year{{snd}}Chasing Rainbows Award (2002), and Parents as Teachers National Center{{snd}}Child and Family Advocacy Award (2003).

On May 8, 2009, Parton gave the [[commencement speech]] at the graduation ceremony for the [[University of Tennessee, Knoxville]]'s College of Arts and Sciences.<ref name="utk">{{cite web|url=http://www.utk.edu/commencement/spring09/videos/dolly.shtml|title=Dolly Parton Presents Commencement Speech|publisher=University of Tennessee at Knoxville|year=2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930190124/http://www.utk.edu/commencement/spring09/videos/dolly.shtml|archive-date=September 30, 2009}}</ref> During the ceremony, she received an honorary [[Doctor of Humane Letters]] from the university. It was only the second honorary degree given by the university, and in presenting the degree, the university's [[chancellor (education)|Chancellor]], [[Jimmy Cheek]], said, "Because of her career not just as a musician and entertainer, but for her role as a cultural ambassador, philanthropist and lifelong advocate for education, it is fitting that she be honored with an honorary degree from the flagship educational institution of her home state."<ref>{{cite news|title=UT Knoxville Awards Dolly Parton Honorary Doctorate|url=http://tntoday.utk.edu/2009/05/08/ut-knoxville-awards-dolly-parton-honorary-doctorate/|access-date=July 14, 2014|publisher=[[University of Tennessee]]|date=May 8, 2009}}</ref>

In 2006, Parton published a cookbook, ''Dolly's Dixie Fixin's: Love, Laughter and Lots of Good Food''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Parton, Dolly|title=Dolly's Dixie Fixin's: Love, Laughter, and Lots of Good Food from My Tennessee Mountain Kitchen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bSToAgAACAAJ|access-date=December 13, 2012|year=2006|publisher=Viking Studio|isbn=978-0-670-03814-5}}</ref><ref>[http://www.dollysdixiefixins.com ''Dolly's Dixie Fixin's''], official website; accessed April 21, 2014.</ref>

The Dollywood Foundation, funded from Parton's profits, has been noted for bringing jobs and tax revenues to a previously depressed region. Parton also has worked to raise money for several other causes, including the [[American Red Cross]] and [[HIV/AIDS]]-related charities.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/dolly-parton|title=Dolly Parton: Charity Work & Causes|publisher=Look to the Stars|access-date=June 14, 2014}}</ref>

In December 2006, Parton pledged $500,000 toward a proposed $90{{spaces}}million hospital and cancer center to be constructed in Sevierville in the name of Robert F. Thomas, the physician who delivered her. She announced a benefit concert to raise additional funds for the project. The concert played to about 8,000 people.<ref>{{cite news|title=Parton Pledges $500,000 to Hospital|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2006-12-13-parton_x.htm|agency=Associated Press|date=December 13, 2006|access-date=February 12, 2012}}</ref> That same year, Parton and [[Emmylou Harris]] allowed use of their music in a [[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals|PETA]] ad campaign that encouraged pet owners to keep their dogs indoors rather than chained outside.<ref>"[http://www.adpunch.org/entry/emmylou-harris-and-dillinger-escape-plan-bassist-liam-wilson-support-peta/ Emmylou Harris and Dillinger Escape Plan bassist Liam Wilson support PETA] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060211205429/http://adpunch.org/entry/emmylou-harris-and-dillinger-escape-plan-bassist-liam-wilson-support-peta/|date=February 11, 2006}}", AdPunch, January 24, 2006.</ref>

[[File:Dolly Parton and Bob Corker.jpg|right|thumb|With Tennessee Senator [[Bob Corker]] at the rededication ceremony for the [[Great Smoky Mountains National Park]] in September 2009]]
In 2003, her efforts to preserve the [[bald eagle]] through the [[American Eagle Foundation]]'s sanctuary at Dollywood earned her the Partnership Award from the [[U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Dolly Parton, American Eagle Foundation and Bald Eagle "Challenger" Help Open New Bald Eagle Refuge Exhibit at Smithsonian's National Zoo|url=http://www.eagles.org/news/Articles/Dolly-Parton-AEF-Challenger-Help-Open-Exhibit.php|access-date=July 14, 2014|publisher=[[American Eagle Foundation]]|date=July 2, 2003|quote=Ms. Parton was given the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service "Partnership Award" in recognition of her outstanding support for Bald Eagle conservation and the National Wildlife Refuge System.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714221202/http://www.eagles.org/news/Articles/Dolly-Parton-AEF-Challenger-Help-Open-Exhibit.php|archive-date=July 14, 2014}}</ref> Parton received the [[Woodrow Wilson Awards|Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service]] from the [[Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars]] of the [[Smithsonian Institution]] at a ceremony in Nashville on November 8, 2007.<ref>{{cite news|title=Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Expands to United Kingdom|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2007/12/04/idUS206227+04-Dec-2007+BW20071204|access-date=July 14, 2014|work=Reuters|date=December 4, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715004745/http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/12/04/idUS206227+04-Dec-2007+BW20071204|archive-date=July 15, 2014}}</ref>

In response to the [[2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires]], Parton was one of a number of country music artists who participated in a telethon to raise money for victims of the fires.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2016/12/02/nashville-tv-station-host-star-filled-telethon-gatlinburg-victims/94807506/|title=Nashville TV station airing live star-filled telethon for Gatlinburg victims|newspaper=The Tennessean|access-date=December 27, 2016}}</ref> This was held in Nashville on December 9. In addition, Parton hosted her own telethon for the victims on December 13<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.countryliving.com/life/entertainment/a40773/dolly-parton-telethon-tennessee-wildfires/|title=Dolly Parton Is Hosting a Telethon to Help Tennessee Wildfire Victims|date=December 5, 2016|newspaper=Country Living|access-date=December 27, 2016}}</ref> and reportedly raised around $9{{spaces}}million.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/celebrity/dolly-parton-telethon-raises-9m-tennessee-wildfire-victims-n696381|title=Dolly Parton telethon raises $9M for wildfire victims|newspaper=NBC News|access-date=December 27, 2016}}</ref> Her fund, the "My People Fund", provided $1,000 a month for six months to over 900 families affected by the wildfires, finally culminating with $5,000 to each home in the final month due to increased fundraising, for a total of $10,000 per family.<ref name="BPR">{{cite news|url=https://www.bpr.org/news/2018-12-24/how-dolly-parton-gave-12-5-million-and-unprecedented-research-to-sevier-county/|title='How Dolly Parton Gave $12.5 Million And Unprecedented Research To Sevier County'|last=Knoepp|first=Lilly|date=December 24, 2019|publisher=[[WCQS|Blue Ridge Public Radio]]|access-date=May 4, 2022}}</ref><ref name="FBI">{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/06/politics/fbi-dolly-parton-great-smoky-mountain-wildfires/index.html|title='FBI honors Dolly Parton for work following Great Smoky Mountain wildfires'|last=Cole|first=Devan|date=May 6, 2019|publisher=[[CNN]]|access-date=May 4, 2022}}</ref><ref name="NPRWildfire">{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2017/05/08/520140609/dolly-parton-issues-final-checks-to-those-displaced-by-smoky-mountain-wildfire|title=Dolly Parton Provides Fire Victims 'Shoulder To Lean On'|last=Flanagan|first=Andrew|date=May 8, 2017|publisher=[[NPR]]|access-date=May 4, 2022}}</ref> In 2018, the FBI honored Parton for her wildfire aid work, awarding her the 2018 Director's Community Leadership Award at a ceremony at FBI Headquarters in Washington. The honor was bestowed by Director Christopher Wray and was accepted on Parton's behalf by David Dotson, the CEO of the Dollywood Foundation.<ref name="FBI"/>

The impact of the fund's financial relief for the 2016 wildfire victims was studied by University of Tennessee College of Social Work professor Stacia West, who examined the impact of cash transfers in poverty alleviation.<ref name="UTBeacon">{{cite news|url=https://www.utdailybeacon.com/campus_news/campus_life/social-worker-faculty-member-looks-to-alleviate-poverty-through-studies-community-work/article_fbda20d4-361d-11e9-8abb-cfb6ac6a09c6.html|title='Social worker, faculty member looks to alleviate poverty through studies, community work'|last=Trieu|first=Cat|date=February 21, 2019|publisher=The UT Beacon|access-date=May 4, 2022}}</ref> West surveyed 100 recipients of the emergency relief funds in April 2017 on topics including questions on housing, financial impact, physical and emotional health, and sources of support, with a follow-up survey conducted in December 2017. West found that the "My People Fund", in tandem with traditional disaster response, gave families the ability to make decisions that were most beneficial to them, and concluded that unconditional cash support may be more beneficial for disaster relief than conditional financial support.<ref name="WBIR">{{cite news|url=https://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/wildfire/ut-professor-studying-financial-emotional-impact-of-my-people-fund/51-492408908|title=UT professor studying financial, emotional impact of 'My People Fund'|author=[[WBIR]]|date=November 27, 2017|publisher=WBIR|access-date=May 4, 2022}}</ref> The report cited the impact of the monthly financial disbursements from the "My People Fund" on residents' emergency savings: "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."<ref name="KnoxNews">{{cite news|url=https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/2018/04/19/ut-report-gatlinburg-wildfire-survivors-dolly-parton-my-people-fund/532618002/|title='Gatlinburg wildfire survivors found cash most helpful for recovery, says UT report'|last=Nelson|first=Kristi L|date=April 19, 2018|publisher=[[Knoxville News Sentinel|Knox News]]|access-date=May 4, 2022}}</ref>

Parton has been a generous donor to [[Vanderbilt University Medical Center]] (VUMC). Among her gifts was a contribution to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt Pediatric Cancer Program in honor of a friend, [[Naji Abumrad]], and her niece, Hannah Dennison, who was successfully treated for [[leukemia]] as a child at the Children's Hospital.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vumc.org/coronavirus/latest-news/dolly-parton-makes-generous-gift-advance-covid-19-research-vanderbilt|title=Dolly Parton Makes Generous Gift to Advance COVID-19 Research at Vanderbilt – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information for Employees and Patients|website=www.vumc.org}}</ref>

In the aftermath of 2024's [[Hurricane Helene]], Parton announced a donation of $2&nbsp;million to relief efforts, $1&nbsp;million personally and another $1&nbsp;million through her various businesses and the Dollywood Foundation.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/04/entertainment/dolly-parton-hurricane-helene/index.html |title=Dolly Parton pitches in toward Hurricane Helene relief efforts |last=Heching |first=Dan |website=[[CNN]] |date=October 4, 2024 |access-date=October 6, 2024}}</ref>

===LGBTQ+ rights===
Though often politically neutral, Parton is known for her long history of openly supporting the gay community and publicly came out in support of [[same-sex marriage]] in 2009.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/entertainment-news/2009/11/16/dolly-parton-im-gay-marriage|title=Dolly Parton Im For Gay Marriage|first=Julie|last=Bolcer|publisher=The Advocate|date=November 16, 2009|accessdate=December 13, 2023}}</ref>

===Moderna COVID-19 vaccine===
In response to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], Parton donated $1{{spaces}}million towards research at [[Vanderbilt University Medical Center]] and encouraged those who can afford it to make similar donations.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Murry|last=Lee|url=https://www.wjhl.com/local-coronavirus-coverage/dolly-parton-announces-she-will-donate-1-million-to-vanderbilt-for-covid-19-research/|title=Dolly Parton announces $1 million donation to Vanderbilt for COVID-19 research|date=April 1, 2020|website=WJHL {{!}} Tri-Cities News & Weather|language=en-US|access-date=April 1, 2020|archive-date=April 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404030705/https://www.wjhl.com/local-coronavirus-coverage/dolly-parton-announces-she-will-donate-1-million-to-vanderbilt-for-covid-19-research/|url-status=dead}}</ref> She said "I'm a very proud girl today to know I had anything at all to do with something that's going to help us through this crazy pandemic."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-54974987|title=Dolly Parton 'honoured and proud' to help Covid-19 battle|work=BBC News|date=November 18, 2020}}</ref> Her donation funded the critical early stages of development of the [[Moderna]] vaccine.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/world/dolly-parton-moderna-vaccine-covid.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/world/dolly-parton-moderna-vaccine-covid.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |url-access=limited|website=The New York Times|title=Dolly Parton, who helped fund the Moderna vaccine, gets a 'dose of her own medicine.'|first=Mike|last=Ives|date=March 2, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In March 2021, Parton was [[COVID-19 vaccine|vaccinated]] against [[Coronavirus disease 2019|COVID-19]] at Vanderbilt University. She labeled social media accounts of the occasion "Dolly gets a dose of her own medicine."<ref>{{Cite news |title=Dolly Parton gets Covid-19 vaccination, jokes she got a 'dose of her own medicine' |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dolly-parton-gets-covid-19-vaccine-jokes-she-got-dose-n1259356 |first1=Doha |last1=Madani |date=March 2, 2021 |access-date=July 20, 2021 |work=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> Parton strongly encouraged everyone to get vaccinated when eligible and performed a song celebrating her vaccination, set to the tune of her song "[[Jolene (song)|Jolene]]".<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-56261397 Covid-19: Dolly Parton marks vaccination with Jolene rewrite] ''[[BBC]]''</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/03/02/dolly-parton-gets-the-moderna-coronavirus-vaccine-her-1-million-donation-helped-fund/|title=Dolly Parton Gets The Moderna Coronavirus Vaccine Her $1 Million Donation Helped Fund|first=Carlie|last=Porterfield|website=Forbes}}</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/mar/03/were-jabbing-covid-vaccine-song-remakes-from-bob-marley-to-madness 'We're jabbing': Covid vaccine song remakes, from Bob Marley to Madness] ''[[The Guardian]]''</ref>