Dolly Parton has received yet another award, this one for her generosity instead of her music. The 76-year-old was the recent recipient of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, honoring her numerous generous donations she has made throughout her lengthy career, including her Imagination Library, donating a million dollars to fund the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and more.
“I feel very special being among those folks,” Parton tells Vogue. “I’m proud for what I’m being honored for — especially with the Imagination Library. It’s always nice to be recognized for what you do, although that’s not why you do it. Some people do, but that’s not why I do it. You take pride in it, but I take more pride in why I’m getting the award. We’ve done so many wonderful things through the Imagination Library; we’ve done great things for children in their young, impressionable years, so that they can learn to read and write.”
For Parton, it was never a question of whether she would give, but rather how she would give. The Country Music Hal of Fame member has made it a point throughout her 55-plus years n country music, to help those in need, wherever she could.
“When I got into a position to be able to do it on a larger scale, I did,” Parton shares. “It means a lot to me. How hard can it be for me to take pride in the Imagination Library, knowing that I’m helping put books in the hands of children all over the world? It’s more about children learning to read — it’s the fact they get recognized. They get this little book with their little name on it in the mail, and they feel special. They start taking pride in themselves, and they know that somebody out there is thinking of [them].”
Parton received worldwide acclaim for helping fund a COVID-19 vaccine, a gift she made simply because she says she could.
“Well, I’m not one to hide under the covers when something that scary is going on!” Parton says. “That was just the freakiest thing — a plague that was going to wipe us all off the face of the earth. I try to keep my heart in tune with what’s going on, as well as my eyes and ears, so when I started hearing and seeing all these things, I felt I needed to do something. I didn’t know exactly what to do, but I thought one thing we could do is to find a vaccine — to try to stop it in its tracks, or keep it from spreading further. My heart and my head said to donate money to try and get a vaccine.”
Other recipients of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy include Manu Chandaria, Lyda Hill, Lynn Schusterman, Stacy Schusterman, and the World Central Kitchen.
Parton donated another million dollars earlier this year to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, this time to pediatric infectious disease research. She will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on November 5, along with Lionel Richie, Pat Benatar, Duran Duran, Eurythmics, Carly Simon and Eminem.
