Dolly Parton's philanthropy legacy - free Imagination Library books to Covid vaccine and Dollywood Foundation

Dolly Parton's philanthropy legacy - free Imagination Library books to Covid vaccine and Dollywood Foundation Country music superstar Dolly Parton donated millions toward relief efforts, cancer research as well as funding toward a vaccine during the height of the pandemic Country music icon Dolly Parton will be known as one of the greatest musicians, but she will also be equally remembered for her philanthropy following her death, aged 80. Her nephew Brian Seaver today announced her death on Instagram, adding: "It's an honour, an honour that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness." While Parton will forever be known for some of most iconic songs of the 20th century, including Jolene, nine to five, I Will Always Love You and Islands in the Stream, her philanthropy adds to the Tennessean's legacy. The singer-songwriter created the Dollywood Foundation in 1988 in a bid to reverse the drop-out rate in Sevier County, her childhood home. In the years since, the foundation has supported keeping children in school and improving their reading skills. "I'm kind of addicted to the feeling of giving," Parton previously told PEOPLE in 2021. Her charitable work over the decades earned her the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy back in 2022. "I'm just so proud to have been a part of anything that's good and that's making life a little better for people," she said on Good Morning America in 2021. Here are some of Parton's greatest philanthropic contributions. The Dollywood Foundation Set up in 1988, Parton launched the Dollywood Foundation to help inspire children in Sevier County, Tennessee, her home county, to strive for success in education. The foundation launched numerous efforts for the cause over the years including a 1990s Buddy Program which saw seventh and eighth-grade students (12 to 14-year-olds) promised $500 (£366) if they graduated high school. The program was a huge success with the dropout rate among those students falling from 35 per cent to just 6 per cent, with the Dollywood Foundation saying it "catalysed the community to provide additional resources to sustain this improvement" over the years. The Dollywood Foundation also offers a $15,000 (£11,000) college scholarship to five Sevier County high school seniors each year. COVID-19 Research Parton backed vaccine research during as COVID-19 ravaged the world, gifting $1 million (£732,635) to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for the development of the Moderna vaccine. The vaccine went on to show a 95 per cent protection rate from the virus in trials. She made the donation after her friend Dr Naji Abumrad from the Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation at the university in Tennessee informed her about "some exciting advancements" in finding a vaccine for the virus. "I'm sure many, many millions of dollars from many people went into that but I felt so proud to have been part of that little seed money that hopefully will grow into something great and help to heal this world," she told the BBC's The One Show. "Lord knows we need it." The Imagination Library Parton made no secret about the pride she held for the Imagination Library, a monthly book gifting scheme for children aged under five. The programme is believed to have gifted some 300 million books to children across the globe since being set up in 1995. Parton was inspired to start the foundation due in part to her father Robert Lee's illiteracy. She previously told PEOPLE in 2022: "That always made me feel bad about my dad, so I started it based on that, just for our country. It’s just grown in leaps and bounds ever since then, but it came from a place in my heart to try to help children in their young years, their most impressionable years, to learn how to read and write." The foundation hit the headline this year ahead of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding with the pair gifting $2million (£1.466m) in donations. Relief donations The country music icon became known for making substantive relief support donations in Tennessee. In November 2016, the Dollywood Foundation launched the My People Fund to support families that had their lives devastated by horrendous wildfires that year. Parton asked the Foundation to lead the effort to hand out $1,000 (£732) each month for six month to the families who lost their homes in the blaze. This ran until May 2017, when the Foundation concluded the distribution with the announcement that more than $12million (£8.79m) had been raised and given to families who lost their homes. The foundation raised $700,000 (£512,995) for victims of flooding in central Tennessee in 2021. She also went on to pledge $1million to assist people affected by Hurricane Helene, that tore through six US states in September 2024, with another $1million donated by her business. Paediatric infectious disease research donation Parton made a further $1million donation to the Vanderbilt university in 2022 with the aim of furthering Paediatric infectious disease research. The donation went on to fund under standing of viruses, diagnosing and treating children with cancer. She previously said in 2022: "I love all children. No child should ever have to suffer, and I’m willing to do my part to try and keep as many of them as I can as healthy and safe as possible." "We are deeply honoured by Dolly’s contribution to our research mission,” said Mark Denison, MD, professor of Paediatrics and director of the Division of Paediatric Infectious Diseases. “For over 40 years our division has been a national and international leader in studies for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of life-threatening infections, and this gift will accelerate our work and support new ideas." Children's hospitals On top of her donations for Covid vaccination research and children's infectious disease research, Dolly Parton had a close philanthropic relationship with the Monroe Carell Jr Children's Hospital in Nashville. Her niece, Hannah Dennison, was treated for leukaemia there in the 1990s as a child. In 2017 Parton gifted $1million to the paediatric cancer programme while visiting patients with Hannah. The following year, the hospital announced the dedication of the Hannah Dennison Butterfly Garden at the hospital where Hannah had spent four years being treated for leukaemia, with the butterfly being a nod to Dolly's iconic symbol. “It was important to me to make a donation to the Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt because of Hannah’s care and just how well they do for everyone,” Parton said. “It’s been a good hospital for us. This is just a great group of doctors and nurses that provide the best of care, and it was the least I could do.” Earlier this year, the East Tennessee Children's hospital was renamed the Dolly Parton Children's Hospital after Parton made a donation of an undisclosed amount. In a video message shared as a collaborative post with the Today show and the hospital's official page, she said: "I've always believed that every child deserves a fair chance to grow up healthy, hopeful and surrounded with ove. That belief is what brought me together with the incredible folks at East Tennessee Children's Hospital." She continued: "For nearly 90 years, their teams have provided compassionate and talented care. They see children not just as patients, but as precious lives. Each with a story, and a future. I am so excited to share, East Tennesee Children's Hospital is becoming... guess what? Dolly Parton Children's Hospital. Yay!"