EDUCATION AND LITERACY

In 1988, Parton founded the non-profit Dollywood Foundation, originally to improve educational outcomes among children in her home county of Sevier County, Tennessee. Among the foundation's early efforts was the Buddy Program, in which seventh- and eighth-grade students paired with a friend and pledged to support each other in remaining in school and graduating from high school. Students who graduated received $500. The dropout rate among participating classes fell from 35% to 6%, and the program encouraged the community to develop additional initiatives to sustain the improvement.

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HEALTHCARE AND MEDICAL RESEARCH

The Dollywood Foundation, funded from Parton's profits, has brought jobs and tax revenues to a previously depressed region. Parton also worked to raise money for other causes, including the American Red Cross and HIV/AIDS-related charities.

 

In December 2006, Parton pledged $500,000 toward a proposed $90 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.

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Parton was 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.

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DISASTER RELIEF AND COMMUNITY AID

In response to the 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires, Parton was one of the country music artists who participated in a telethon to raise money for victims of the fires. This was held in Nashville on December 9. In addition, Parton hosted her own telethon for the victims on December 13 and reportedly raised around $9 million. Her fund, the "My People Fund", provided $1,000 a month for six months to over 900 families affected by the wildfires, culminating with $5,000 to each home in the final month due to increased fundraising, totaling $10,000 per family. In 2018, the FBI honored Parton for her wildfire aid, awarding her the 2018 Director's Community Leadership Award at a ceremony at FBI Headquarters. The honor was bestowed by Director Christopher Wray and was accepted on Parton's behalf by David Dotson, the CEO of the Dollywood Foundation.

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ANIMAL WELFARE AND CONSERVATION

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.

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In 2006, Parton and Emmylou Harris allowed use of their music in a PETA ad campaign that encouraged pet owners to keep their dogs indoors rather than chained outside.