Dolly Parton was more than a country music icon. Throughout her career, she devoted millions of dollars and decades of effort to education, literacy, healthcare, disaster relief, and other causes.Following her death, the country music icon's charitable work stands as an important part of her legacy.Here are some of her most significant philanthropic efforts.Dolly Parton helped students pursue collegeDolly Parton offered $500 scholarships to Sevier County students who wanted to attend Hiwassee College.She later established a scholarship program offering $15,000 to five local high school seniors each year. The awards support students who have a specific dream and a plan for pursuing it.Dolly Parton - Source: GettyShe created the Imagination LibraryIn 1995, Dolly Parton launched the Dollywood Foundation's Imagination Library in Sevier County.The program was inspired by her father, who was unable to read. It initially provided one free book each month to enrolled children from birth until they started school.The program eventually expanded internationally. By 2025, it had distributed more than 300 million books to children, with more than 40 million books given out during 2025 alone.She launched the Dollywood FoundationIn 1988, the Islands in the Stream songstress established the Dollywood Foundation in her home county of Sevier County, Tennessee. One of its early goals was reducing the area’s high school dropout rate.The foundation launched the Buddy Program, which offered $500 to seventh and eighth graders who stayed in school through graduation. According to the organization, the local dropout rate eventually fell from 35% to 6%.She helped bring a hospital to her hometownThe music icon helped raise $1 million for the construction of LeConte Medical Center in Sevier County.A benefit concert raised $500,000, while Dollywood and Parton's Dixie Stampede dinner theater each pledged $250,000. The hospital and cancer center opened in 2010 and includes the 30,000-square-foot Dolly Parton Center for Women's Services.She responded to the 2016 Tennessee wildfiresAfter devastating wildfires struck the Great Smoky Mountains region in 2016, Dolly Parton created the My People Fund.The program provided families whose homes were destroyed with $1,000 per month for six months. It ultimately distributed about $8.9 million to affected residents, with assistance covering necessities such as housing, utilities, food, and mental health resources.She helped fund COVID-19 researchOne of Dolly Parton's known philanthropic efforts was her $1 million donation to coronavirus research at Vanderbilt University. This contribution helped support research associated with the development of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine.She supported children's cancer careAfter releasing her children's album I Believe in You, she donated $1 million to Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.The donation was made in honor of her niece, who had received treatment for leukemia at the hospital.Washington Commanders v Dallas Cowboys - Source: GettyShe went on to support medical researchShe continued investing in medical research because in 2022, the I Will Always Love You singer donated another $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to support pediatric infectious disease research. This included efforts to better understand infections, antibiotic resistance, and illnesses affecting children with cancer.She continued helping communities affected by disastersDolly Parton contributed $1 million toward Hurricane Helene relief efforts in East Tennessee in 2024, plus another $1 million from her businesses and the Dollywood Foundation.Parton passed away on Aug. 25, 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee. She was 80.Her death was confirmed in a heartfelt statement by her family, released exclusively via People."Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope, and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand." View this post on Instagram Instagram PostThe statement also praises the late songstress' legacy and generosity, as well as her "unconditional love for all.""Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly's unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact."