Dolly Parton’s wish to be remembered for more than just her country music classics seems to have come true, as tributes pour in praising the superstar for her charitable work.

The singer died Tuesday morning at the age of 80 after being admitted on Friday to Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center with autoimmune and kidney problems.

Her death was later confirmed in a heartbreaking Instagram video posted by her nephew Bryan Seaver, who also acted as her head of security.

Seaver hailed his aunt for having ‘lived in the light’ and said she was now ‘in the arms of Jesus’ and the company of her late husband Carl Dean.

Prior to her death, Parton said she wanted to be remembered for helping children.

She created Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a charitable program that gives free books to children under the age of five.

‘Of all the things I’ve done in my life… this is one of the most precious things and the proudest I’ve ever been involved in, working with these kids,’ she once said.

But Parton has made a number of other charitable contributions spanning more than four decades, donating millions of dollars to organizations including children’s hospitals and disaster relief.

She even provided $1,000 a month to Tennessee families whose homes were destroyed in the 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires.

Dolly Parton died on Tuesday at the age of 80, leaving behind a legacy of philanthropy

The country music star has said she wanted to be remembered for her Imagination Library, which provides free books to children under the age of five

Parton’s philanthropic efforts began in the community she grew up in in East Tennessee, where she sought to improve literacy rates and lower the number of teenagers who dropped out of high school.

The fourth of 12 children, Parton was born in Pittman Center, Tennessee, on January 19, 1946. 

She and her siblings, Willadeene, David Wilburn, Coy Denver, Bobby Lee, Stella Mae, Cassie Nan, Randel Huston ‘Randy,’ Larry Gerald, twins Estel Floyd and Freida Estelle, and Rachel Ann, were raised in the Great Smoky Mountains where they slept on beds made of straw and lived with no running water, gas or electricity.

When she became a successful country singer, Parton decided to give back to the community by launching the Dollywood Foundation in Sevier County in 1988, with the goal of decreasing high school dropout rates.

The following year, she also offered $500 to every seventh- and eighth-grader in the county who finished high school.

The initiative proved successful, with the dropout rate plummeting from 35 percent to just 6 percent, according to the foundation. 

The singer and songwriter gave back to the community she grew up in with the launch of her Dollywood Foundation in Sevier County in 1988

By 1991, Parton sought to expand her philanthropic efforts, as she founded the Eagle Mountain Sanctuary at Dollywood – a 30,000sq ft aviary managed by the American Eagle Foundation, which today shelters the largest collection of ‘non-releasable’ bald eagles.

Her efforts to preserve the bald eagle population later earned her the Partnership Award from the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 2003.

Still, Parton did not forget where she came from, and in 1995 the Dollywood Foundation’s Imagination Library began sending one book per month to each child enrolled in the program in Sevier County from birth until their first year of school.

It was created in honor of Parton’s father, who was unable to read. He would tell her years later that the Imagination Library ‘was probably the most important thing’ she had ever done, the organization noted following her passing.

She also started The Dolly Parton Scholarship in 2000, a $15,000 grant for five high school seniors in Sevier County, Tennessee. It is awarded to those who ‘have a dream they wish to pursue and can successfully communicate their plan and commitment to realize the dream,’ according to the scholarship.

Parton launched the Imagination Library in 1995, sending one book per month to each child enrolled in the program in Sevier County from birth until their first year of school

Parton reading her book Coat of Many Colors at the Library of Congress in Washington in February 2018

Parton has said ‘working with these kids’ has been ‘one of the most precious things and the proudest I’ve ever been involved in’

Parton also encouraged others to donate, holding a benefit concert in 2007 for Sevier County hospital.

The concert raised $500,000, and both Dollywood and Parton’s Dixie Stampede dinner theater pledged $250,000 each, bringing the total to $1 million.

Le Conte Medical Center then opened in Sevier County in 2010, featuring a 30,000sq ft Dolly Parton Center for Women’s Services.

When wildfires destroyed Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Parton hosted the Smoky Mountains Rise: A Benefit for the My People Fund. That telethon raised more than $13 million and featured legendary performers including Chris Stapleton, Chris Young, Kenny Rogers, Reba McEntire and Cyndi Lauper.

At the same time, Parton launched the My People Fund, which provided $1,000 a month to families whose homes were completely destroyed, and donated around $8.9 million to those in need. 

To this day, the initiative still helps residents pay for rent and utilities, plus food and mental health resources. 

Parton and her Smoky Mountain businesses also raised $700,000 to help residents impacted by catastrophic flooding in Middle Tennessee in August 2021. 

Parton received Kennedy Center Honors in 2006, alongside Zubin Mehta, Steven Spielberg, Smokey Robinson and Andrew Lloyd Webber

Her other charitable donations included a $1 million donation to Monroe Carell Jr Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in honor of her niece, who was treated for leukemia there; and another $1 million donation to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in June 2022 aimed at helping pediatric infectious disease research.

The hospital has said that the donation will aid the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases to continue its efforts in understanding how viruses and bacteria cause disease, understanding and preventing resistance to antibiotics and diagnosing and treating infections in children with cancer.

More recently, Parton donated $1 million to The Salvation Army, with the money allocated to food and grocery programs across the United States.

The organization has said the gift would provide roughly 2.5 million meals to people in need.

Following Hurricane Helene in 2024, Parton also provided $1 million from her personal funds for the Mountain Way’s Foundation, which provides assistance to flood victims.

Her East Tennessee businesses and the Dollywood Foundation also provided $1 million, bringing her combined contributions to $2 million. 

Parton’s famous hits include Jolene, 9 to 5, and I Will Always Love You  

The musician with her mother Avie Lee. Parton won eleven Grammy Awards and three Emmy Awards in her lifetime 

As the country now grapples with Parton’s death, many remembered her for her charitable work.

Former vice president Al Gore paid tribute to her ‘giving’ attitude.

‘In one of her many memorable hit songs, Dolly Parton famously sang about a 9-to-5 job that was “all taking and no giving.” So, in looking back on her amazing legacy, it’s fitting to remember her for all her giving to others throughout her life: all the joy she gave us all with her incredibly beautiful songwriting, her captivating voice, and her endless creative pursuits. 

‘The 300million free books she gave to children across America and around the world through her Imagination Library. All the fun she gave to families who visited Dollywood. The crucial funding and support she gave for medical research into pediatric cancer, infectious diseases, and not least, the Moderna COVID vaccine.

‘She gave funding to provide shelter and food for the victims of disasters,’ he noted.

‘I’m especially grateful for all that she gave back to our beloved home state of Tennessee.

‘For many, her lasting gift is the inspiration to give back to our own communities with the same passion, humor, and conviction as Dolly. God bless her and may she rest in peace. We will always love her!’

Fans paying tribute to Dolly Parton at her statue situated on the lawn of the Sevier County Courthouse on Tuesday

Signs, candles and flowers littered Parton’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Dominique Nisperos and Lucy Sartor sing Dolly Parton songs at her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, as people gather near the star

Second Lady Usha Vance revealed on X that the family were longtime subscribers of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which has gifted more than 304.5 million books since it was launched in 1995.

‘As four-time subscribers to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and lifelong fans of her music, our family knows that Dolly Parton loved a good story,’ Usha posted on X.

‘I hope that you’ll pick up a book and celebrate the magic of storytelling in her honor today.’

Meanwhile, Dr Mehmet Oz said he was able to see ‘the woman behind the cameras, when there was no audience and nothing to gain except the chance to bring someone else a little hope.’

‘We toured pediatric cancer facilities together, and I will never forget watching the children light up when Dolly walked into the room. She brought her bright light into some of the darkest moments a family can endure,’ the administrator of the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services posted online.

‘But she didn’t just visit. She stayed.

‘She patiently sat with children struggling with cancer. She listened to them, laughed with them, held their hands and somehow gave them a little more energy and courage to fight the battles ahead. That was Dolly. Her greatest gift wasn’t the music. It was her heart.

‘She was an angel on earth, and I know she is still an angel today.’