While Dolly Parton has had many delightful moments this year, including complimenting Taylor Swift and making a fun cameo on The Orville, she’s also been giving back to the country in many different ways. Her love for people and philanthropic spirit was recently rewarded by Jeff Bezos when he gave her $100 million via his Courage and Civility Award, and she responded in an adorable way.
Parton is the third winner of the Courage and Civility Award. According to American Military News Lauren Sánchez, Bezos’ partner, said the award is for “leaders who aim high, find solutions, and who always do it with civility.” Id' say based on this the "9 to 5" singer is the perfect recipient. Bezos specifically acknowledged Parton's work for kids and literacy in the speech leading up to the award. Sánchez also said that the country singer could direct the funds to any charities she desired. The Amazon owner then tweeted out the video of Parton receiving the award, and she said:
Wow! Did you say 100 million dollars? When people are in a position to help, you should help. … I’ve always said I try to put my money where my heart is, and I think you (Bezos) do the same thing. I will do my best to do good things with this money.
You can just see the excitement on her face, and feel the joy radiating off her. Clearly, this money means the world to Parton, and those she will help. Check out her adorable speech for yourself:
We’ve just announced a new Courage and Civility award recipient — @DollyParton, who leads with her heart, and will put this $100 million award to great use helping so many people. She joins prior awardees, @VanJones68 and @Chefjoseandres. Congrats, Dolly! pic.twitter.com/dzTuoGVp3GNovember 12, 2022
Along with being a legendary singer, Parton is also a legendary philanthropist. She has founded many charities, like Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which mails free books to kids. This summer she donated $1 million to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center for pediatric infectious disease research. She also donated money to COVID-19 vaccine research and multiple different scholarship funds over the past few years. On top of her charity work, she also announced early this year that she would cover 100% of her Dollywood employees’ college expenses. I'd say this long list of charitable work makes her a great fit to distribute $100 million.
The other two recipients of the award from the billionaire were José Andrés who founded World Central Kitchen and donated some of his money to make meals for Ukrainians, and CNN’s Van Jones, who founded organizations for racial justice and prison reform.
This news about Parton was announced within a few days of Bezos telling CNN he would be giving away most of his $124 billion net worth throughout his lifetime. He said that he wanted to donate a lot of his money to fight climate change and support those who can bring people together during this politically divisive time. Also, he did this interview with CNN to promote the award given to Parton.
Along with her various charities, Parton is also staying busy with a new Christmas special, following her 2020 Netflix holiday special, which is on the 2022 TV schedule. So, along with seeing where she donates her $100 million, you can also check out Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas December 1 on NBC or with a Peacock subscription.
