Dolly Parton turned 80 years old last month.
I know that many people share my belief that she is a national treasure. I don't like country music, but I happily listen to Dolly's music. She is the complete package: singer, songwriter, actress, bussinesswoman and philanthropist. She is kind and generous, and family and close friends mean everything to her.
She exudes happiness and warmth, acceptance and kindness. Her self-deprecating humor pokes fun at the many plastic surgeries and botox injections she has had. How refreshing it is to find a mega celebrity with class, no poitical agenda and no ugly gossip or scandals. She was happily married to her husband Carl, who died in 2025, for 60 years.
She grew up in a dirt poor family of 12 children in rural Tennessee. Their house had no electricity or running water. She never lost her memories of being bullied and laughed at because of her homemdade clothes. Her father never learned to read or write. This fact was the inspiration for Dolly's amazing Imagination Library program, which sends a free book every month to any child registered for the program from age birth through 5 years. I made sure my grandson got signed up. He will turn 5 in June, so he has just a few months left to enjoy the books. I have been an avid reader for as long as I can remember, so passing my love of reading to him is important.
During the pandemic, Dolly donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University to aid in the development of a new vaccine. That vaccine is now known as the Moderna vaccine against covid. I got an updated Moderna vaccine just last week. She helped fund a medical center in Sevierville, her home town, including the Dolly Parton Center for Women's Services.
Her Dollywood theme park in her home state of Tennessee creates good jobs for local residents in an area where good jobs are scarce. Dolly welcomes people of all colors and nationalities, and she is popular with members of the LGBTQ community.
Her philanthropic efforts focus on education through the Imagination Library, which has given more than 300 million books to children. Through her Dollywood Foundation, she supports scholarships and efforts to decrease high school dropout rates in her home county of Sevier, Tenn.
Dolly's 'My People Fund' provided $1,000 monthly for six months to families who lost their homes in the 2016 Smoky Mountain wildfires. She also supported flood relief in 2021 and wildfire recovery in 2023.
She often supports initiatives anonymously. Despite growing up in poverty and then achieving tremendous wealth, Dolly has never forgotten the impoverished people of her state. Nor has she forgotten to be humble and kind.
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