Dolly Parton’s legendary reputation as a philanthropist and do-gooder got a boost this week when the entertainment company that operates attractions bearing her name announced it would pay for its employees to advance their education.
The Washington Post reports:
Herschend Enterprises, Dollywood’s parent company, announced Tuesday that Dollywood will pay 100 percent of the tuition costs, fees and books for employees who pursue higher education. Starting on Feb. 24, all 11,000 seasonal, part-time and full-time employees at Herschend’s 25 U.S. attractions, including Dollywood, can register for the GROW U pilot program.
The initiative allows employees to enroll as early as the first day of employment in diploma, degree and certificate programs offered by 30 learning partners. Subjects offered in the higher education program include business administration and leadership, finance, marketing, technology and culinary studies. The company has also pledged to provide partial funding, or up to $5,250 a year, for 150 additional programs in fields such as engineering, human resources, hospitality and art design.
“One of The Dollywood Foundation’s key tenets is to ‘learn more'” said Eugene Naughton, president of the Dollywood Company. “This program is created with that very tenet in mind. We want our hosts to develop themselves through advanced learning to fulfill the foundation’s other tenets: care more, dream more, and be more.”
Andrew Wexler, Herschend CEO, added in a statement “Our team members’ success is our success.”
“Whether it’s to pursue a new dream or advance their career with us, we care about our employees’ personal and professional growth, because we believe that their futures should be grown with love, not loans,” Wexler wrote.
CBS News reports:
While Parton has yet to comment on the announcement, the country music star and actress has long been associated with philanthropy and goodwill. Among them, she funded research for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, raised money for Smoky Mountains wild fire victims in 2016 and created a charity that helps put books in the hands of children.
Last summer, Parton made headlines when she revealed that she used the songwriting proceeds from Whitney Houston’s hit cover of “I Will Always Love You” to invest in a Black community in Nashville that had long been spurned by developers.
