On Thursday night (Oct. 13) in New York City, Dolly Parton received the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy for her well-documented charitable work through her Imagination Library, Dollywood Foundation and other good works initiatives.
"It's always nice to be be recognized for what you do, although that's not why you do it," Parton told Vogue. "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."
Parton's Imagination Library provides a free book every month to children age 5 and under. Per the Associated Press, the now-global initiative ships about 2 million books monthly. The country superstar's other philanthropic work famously played a role in funding the development of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
"Well, I'm not one to hide under the covers when something that scary is going on!," Parton explained. "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 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 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."
Eric Isaacs, president of the Carnegie Institution for Science, cited Parton's $1 million contribution to Vanderbilt University Hospital's vaccine research as something that swayed the medal selection committee.
"Obviously, this is a very difficult time with the pandemic," Isaacs said (as quoted by the LA Times). "But we think environmental issues are probably equally, if not more, impactful in the sense that pandemics like COVID-19 are likely to become more frequent as the atmosphere heats up. I think we take the long view in terms of our selections."
Parton's spirit of giving is informed by her humble East Tennessee upbringing and her Christian testimony.
"I grew up in a very open-hearted, faith-based family," she shared. "You're taught to love and be accepting, and to give more than you receive. Both sides of my family are funny, tender-hearted, good people. Whether you believe in God or not, you need to be grounded; you need to believe in something greater than yourself. We grew up thinking that other people are just as important as we are. I wrote a song that's going to be in my Christmas movie special in December. And it goes, 'Whoever you are, be that. Whatever you do, do that. Anything else is just an act.'"
Different ways Parton helps others as a philanthropist are still being unearthed, such as the recent discovery that she frequently pays for Tennessee high school student's band uniforms.
"I just give from my heart," Parton said during her acceptance speech. "I never know what I'm going to do or why I'm going to do it. I just see a need, and if I can fill it, then I will."
Parton was among the six Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy recipients. Manu Chandaria, Lyda Hill, the World Central Kitchen and the mother-daughter team of Lynn and Stacy Schusterman round out this year's list of honorees. Vogue added that additional recipients' work targets "everything from poverty relief in Africa to health care infrastructure."
