The American singer-songwriter, Dolly Parton, is donating $1m (£808,000) to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where they are working on finding a cure for coronavirus. The staff at the university are “making some exciting advancements towards the research of the coronavirus for a cure.” Her longtime friend Dr. Naji Abumrad said. Dr. Abumrad has been involved in research at Vanderbilt for many years already.
Dolly believes in the team and said:
I am making a donation of $1 million to Vanderbilt towards that research and to encourage people that can afford it to make donations.
I am making a donation of $1 million to Vanderbilt towards that research and to encourage people that can afford it to make donations.
— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) April 1, 2020
Meanwhile, the country music legend will be reading weekly online bedtime stories for children for free. A day before she announced the donation, she aired that she was going to “share some love” by performing weekly online bedtime readings for children.
The series called “Good Night with Dolly” includes “carefully chosen [stories] for their appropriate content at this moment in time.” She hopes the experience can help children relax during the pandemic.
The first episode of her read-aloud series aired on Thursday, April 2nd. Dolly read “The Little Engine That Could.” A new episode will air for viewing every Thursday for the next ten weeks on the Imagination Library’s Facebook page at midnight UK time, 7 pm eastern time.
A statement on the Parton’s Imagination Library (a book-gifting program set up by the star) page said she wants to offer reassurance to children who may be scared or stressed by the outbreak. It reads:
Dolly hopes these videos will provide a welcomed distraction during a time of unrest and also inspire a love of reading and books in the hearts of the children who see them.
She added:
This is something I have been wanting to do for quite a while, but the timing never felt quite right. I think it is pretty clear that now is the time to share a story and to share some love. It is an honor for me to share the incredible talent of these authors and illustrators. They make us smile, they make us laugh and they make us think.
Dolly is best known for the hits “9 to 5” and “Jolene.” However, she is no stranger to supporting children in the past either. In 2017, she released a kid’s album to raise money to buy books.
