Celebrity3 min(s) read
The death of Dolly Parton has been felt by millions around the world, but it has given fans a chance to reminisce about some of the good she did.
On Tuesday (August 25), Parton's family announced her passing on Tuesday (August 25), days after she'd admitted there were "so many things" that she wanted to achieve.
The 'Jolene' singer gave fans a health update when speaking to People on Friday.
She admitted that she didn't pay much attention to her "issues" while caring for her husband, who died in March 2025, as her publicist revealed that she was in a "brief battle with cancer" before her death.
Parton may be remembered for being the voice behind '9 to 5,' and the songwriter behind 'I Will Always Love You', but her work outside of music was just as impressive.
Since starting the Imagination Library program in 1995, Parton has invested millions of dollars into the initiative, which gifts books to children every month from birth to age five, free of charge.
But it seems like this wasn't the full scope of her educational ambitions.
The country music legend noticed back in 1988 that high school dropout rates in her hometown had skyrocketed to 35 percent.
Being from the rural community of Locust Ridge, in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee, she decided to get involved and make a difference.
How? Well, she made a massive promise to a bunch of teenagers.
Through her foundation, Parton decided to launch the "Buddy Program," which aimed to encourage teenagers to finish their high school education.
Parton called an assembly of seventh and eighth graders in Sevier County and made them a promise - if they paired up with a peer and both graduated from high school, she would gift each student a $500 cash check on graduation day.
It was a massive reward, with $500 in 1988 roughly working out to $1,411 today; either way, it's a lot for a teenager.
The motivation was there, and kids had more than enough reason to finish school and to have a partner to hold them accountable.
Years later, the results showed that the program passed with flying colors, as the high school dropout rate dropped from 35 percent to just six percent, helping an entire generation of students into the adult world with high school diplomas and $500 more in their pockets.
Somehow, this act of kindness was compared to the intentions of popular The Office character, Michael Scott, played by Steve Carell.
One social media user commented on a VT post about the program, writing: "That’s like Scott’s Tots! When Michael Scott offered to pay for their college tuitions!!"
The difference here is that Michael didn't follow through on his promise in Season 6 Episode 12 of the sitcom The Office, instead offering the teenagers laptop batteries instead of college tuition.
Responding to the aforementioned comment, another user joked: "Dolly’s kids didn’t get batteries for their laptops though."
Luckily, Parton was a lot more intelligent with her promises, and more than had the means to pay off the successful students.
Unsurprisingly, there's a big difference between being a world-famous country artist and a regional paper salesman.
