Opinion of Dolly Parton

[TDAS04]

?

[Horus]

True FF. Friend of the gays before it was cool and I can't wait to visit her theme park next month.

[John Dule]

An authentic human being.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Like most country stars I can't say I'm a fan of her music (sorry) but she does seem to be a genuinely wonderful human being. So still an obvious freedom fighter.

[Suburbia]

She is one of the greatest.

[Independents for Nihilism]

One of the few people who deserves a 100% FF rating.

[Joe Republic]

Since the mid-1980s, Parton has supported many charitable efforts, particularly in the area of literacy, primarily through her Dollywood Foundation. Her literacy program, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library,[135] a part of the Dollywood Foundation, mails one book per month to each enrolled child from the time of their birth until they enter kindergarten. Currently, over 1600 local communities provide the Imagination Library to almost 850,000 children each month across the U.S., Canada, the UK, Australia, and the Republic of Ireland.[135] In 2018, Parton was honored by the Library of Congress on account of the "charity sending out its 100 millionth book".[136] In 2006, Parton published a cookbook, Dolly's Dixie Fixin's: Love, Laughter and Lots of Good Food.[137][138]

The Dollywood Foundation, funded from Parton's profits, has been noted for bringing jobs and tax revenues to a previously depressed region. Parton also has worked to raise money for several other causes, including the American Red Cross and HIV/AIDS-related charities.[139]

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.[140] That same year, Emmylou Harris and she had allowed their music to be used in a PETA ad campaign that encouraged pet owners to keep their dogs indoors rather than chained outside.[141]

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.[142] Parton received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution at a ceremony in Nashville on November 8, 2007.[143] In February 2018, in honor of her father, who never learned to read or write,[144] she donated her 100 millionth free book, a copy of Parton's children's picture book Coat of Many Colors. It was donated to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.[145]

For her work in literacy, Parton has received various awards, including Association of American Publishers Honors Award (2000), Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval (2001) (the first time the seal had been awarded to a person), American Association of School Administrators – Galaxy Award (2002), National State Teachers of the Year – Chasing Rainbows Award (2002), and Parents as Teachers National Center – Child and Family Advocacy Award (2003).

On May 8, 2009, Parton gave the commencement speech at the graduation ceremony for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville's College of Arts and Sciences.[146] During the ceremony, she received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the university. It was only the second honorary degree given by the university, and in presenting the degree, the university's Chancellor, Jimmy Cheek, said, "Because of her career not just as a musician and entertainer, but for her role as a cultural ambassador, philanthropist and lifelong advocate for education, it is fitting that she be honored with an honorary degree from the flagship educational institution of her home state."[147]

In response to the 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires, Parton was one of a number of country music artists who participated in a telethon to raise money for victims of the fires.[148] This was held in Nashville on December 9. In addition, Parton hosted her own telethon for the victims on December 13[149] and reportedly raised around $9 million.[150] Her fund, the "My People Fund", provided $1,000 a month for six months to over 900 families affected by the wildfires, finally culminating with $5,000 to each home in the final month due to increased fundraising, for a total of $10,000 per family.[151][152][153] In 2018, the FBI honored Parton for her wildfire aid work, awarding her the 2018 Director’s Community Leadership Award at a ceremony at FBI Headquarters in Washington. The honor was bestowed by Director Christopher Wray and was accepted on the Parton’s behalf by David Dotson, the CEO of the Dollywood Foundation.[152]

The impact of the fund's financial relief for the 2016 wildfire victims was studied by University of Tennessee College of Social Work professor Stacia West, who examined the impact of cash transfers in poverty alleviation.[154] West surveyed 100 recipients of the emergency relief funds in April 2017 on topics including questions on housing, financial impact, physical and emotional health, and sources of support, with a follow up survey conducted in December 2017. West found that the "My People Fund", in tandem with traditional disaster response, gave families the ability to make decisions that were most beneficial to them, and concluded that unconditional cash support may be more beneficial for disaster relief than conditional financial support.[155] The report cited the impact of the monthly financial disbursements from the "My People Fund" on residents' emergency savings: "Following the monthly disbursements of unconditional cash assistance, participants were able to return to baseline financial stability reported prior to the wildfire, and improve their ability to set aside savings for hypothetical future emergencies."[156]

Parton has been 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, Professor Naji Abumrad, and her niece, Hannah Dennison, who was successfully treated for leukemia as a child at Children's Hospital.[157]

[Zedonathin2020]

Amazing Humanitarian, however I could never really get into her music for some reason.

[Lambsbread]

One of the all-time greatest FFs.

[GeorgiaModerate]

I met Dolly once.  One summer in college I (sort of unofficially) interned at a country music radio station.  There were a couple guys from the Swedish CMA in town and they arranged to interview Dolly before a concert she was doing, of which our station was one of the sponsors.  I got the job of driving the Swedish guys around and got to sit in on their interview.  Dolly was incredibly nice, gracious, and informative to the foreign visitors and even to the lowly intern.  

Massive FF.

[John Dule]

Like most country stars I can't say I'm a fan of her music (sorry) but she does seem to be a genuinely wonderful human being. So still an obvious freedom fighter.

Jolene slaps, dude.

[Lambsbread]

I met Dolly once.  One summer in college I (sort of unofficially) interned at a country music radio station.  There were a couple guys from the Swedish CMA in town and they arranged to interview Dolly before a concert she was doing, of which our station was one of the sponsors.  I got the job of driving the Swedish guys around and got to sit in on their interview.  Dolly was incredibly nice, gracious, and informative to the foreign visitors and even to the lowly intern.  

Massive FF.

Such a cool story. Amazing to know that people that famous can still be down to earth.

[SnowLabrador]

Major FF.

[TDAS04]

Parton is definitely an FF.  She is so kindhearted.  She has great (and well-deserved) fame, yet doesn’t seem to have an arrogant bone in her body, and seems to genuinely enjoy helping people.

The results of this poll are the inverse of those for a Dr. Oz poll I once created.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Like most country stars I can't say I'm a fan of her music (sorry) but she does seem to be a genuinely wonderful human being. So still an obvious freedom fighter.

Jolene slaps, dude.

It's fine. I'll say that I probably prefer her music to the vast majority of other country music. Hers may not offer strong positive reactions from me but it isn't like the vast majority of other country music that makes me want to burn any pair of blue jeans that I own.

[Joe Republic]

Like most country stars I can't say I'm a fan of her music (sorry) but she does seem to be a genuinely wonderful human being. So still an obvious freedom fighter.

Jolene slaps, dude.

9 To 5 is even better.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

She should play emo music instead.

However she does seem like a good person so FF regardless.

[Badger]

One of the few people who deserves a 100% FF rating.

My God more than 48 hours after the pool open she's getting exactly that!