Dolly Parton is widely recognized as a country music icon, with a career spanning decades and filled with countless chart-topping hits, awards, and accolades. But beyond the bright lights of Nashville and the global stage, Parton has carved out another legacy—one rooted in compassion, community, and a deep belief in the power of education. That legacy began to take form in 1988, when she established the Dollywood Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to inspiring children and improving educational outcomes, particularly in the rural communities that reminded her of her own upbringing.
Born in a one-room cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, Dolly Parton grew up in poverty as one of twelve children. Despite the hardships, she has often credited her family, especially her father, for instilling values of hard work and perseverance. Education, however, was a challenge for many children in her community—too many of them dropped out before completing school. It was a reality Dolly never forgot, even as she rose to fame.
Two years after opening Dollywood, her theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, she turned her attention to philanthropy. She saw the Foundation as a way to give back to her roots and invest in the future of children who, like her, came from humble beginnings.
The Foundation’s initial focus was on reducing dropout rates in Sevier County high schools. Through a scholarship program called the Buddy Program, Dolly offered $500 to every seventh and eighth grader who agreed to finish high school. The only condition? They had to partner with a “buddy” and both students had to graduate. The program saw remarkable success, with the dropout rate plummeting from over 30% to just 6% in the county—a result that drew attention from educators and policymakers nationwide.
But Dolly wasn’t finished.
In 1995, she launched what would become the Dollywood Foundation’s most influential and far-reaching initiative: the Imagination Library. Inspired by her father’s inability to read and write, Dolly wanted to ensure that every child, regardless of their family’s income or background, would have access to books from an early age.
The program is beautifully simple: families sign up for free, and from birth until the age of five, a child receives a brand-new, age-appropriate book in the mail every month. The books are carefully selected by a panel of early childhood literacy experts, ensuring they are both engaging and educational. Titles range from beloved classics to diverse and inclusive stories that reflect the broad experiences of children around the world.
What started as a small program in Sevier County quickly grew into a global movement. Today, the Imagination Library operates in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia. As of 2025, the program has distributed over 200 million books to children worldwide—a staggering achievement for a nonprofit born in a quiet corner of Appalachia.
The success of the Dollywood Foundation has earned Parton numerous humanitarian awards, including the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy and the National Education Association’s Friend of Education Award. Still, she remains humble about her efforts. “I always say that if you can read, you can do anything,” she said in an interview. “My daddy didn’t get the chance to learn, and I saw what that cost him. I wanted to make sure kids don’t have to grow up with that same barrier.”
Beyond literacy, the Dollywood Foundation has supported disaster relief efforts, provided educational grants, and partnered with local organizations to support early childhood development. In 2020, Parton even donated $1 million to COVID-19 research at Vanderbilt University, which helped fund the development of the Moderna vaccine—a testament to her continued commitment to science, health, and education.
At the heart of Dolly’s mission is a belief that every child deserves the chance to dream big, regardless of where they come from. Through books, mentorship, scholarships, and love, she has helped make those dreams more accessible for millions of children.
As she continues to perform, write music, and expand her philanthropic efforts, Dolly Parton shows no signs of slowing down. But if you ask her what she’s most proud of, she might point not to her gold records, but to the book in a child’s hands—one that might never have been there without the work of the Dollywood Foundation.
In a world often divided by circumstance and inequality, Dolly’s mission stands out as a beacon of hope: one woman using her platform to bring education, joy, and opportunity to those who need it most. As she says, “You never know what a child can become if they’re just given a little bit of love and a good book.”
