Late Singer Dolly Parton’s History of Philanthropy

Scholarships

The Dollywood Foundation offers five scholarships to Sevier County high school seniors to help them continue their education. The Dolly Parton Scholarship is a $15,000 scholarship awarded each year.

The Dolly Parton Songwriters Award, which was named after her, provides aspiring songwriters with $20,000.

The My People Fund

After the 2016 fires in Sevier County, Parton donated $ 1,000 per month for six months to the families who lost their homes. She titled the fund the My People Fund because Sevier County is where she grew up.

Because of her ties to Sevier County, Parton has donated millions of dollars over her lifetime to the wellbeing of residents there. In 2007, Parton raised $500,000 for a new hospital in Sevier County. Her dinner theater and Dollywood both pledged $250,000 on top of that, bringing the total to $1 million. The hospital opened in 2010 with the Dolly Parton Center for Women’s Services.

COVID-19 Research

Parton donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University to support COVID-19 research. This effort helped pave the way for the Moderna vaccine, one of the three main COVID-19 vaccines at the time.

Flooding Relief

After disastrous flooding in 2021, Parton and her businesses raised $700,000 to help residents recover. She explained that Loretta Lynn suggested the donation to her. She said, “This was just one small way I could help Loretta’s people for all they did to help my people. I hope that this money can be put to good use to help the people of Middle Tennessee with what they need during their recovery.”

Parton Received the Carnegie Medal of Philantropy

In 2022, Parton was awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy for her decades of charitable work. The award, given every two years by the Carnegie institutions, honors innovative philanthropists like Parton.

Parton inspired millions with the good she did for the world and for Sevier County students. Her compassion for others and charity will never be forgotten.