Dolly Parton gets Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy

Honors continue to roll in for Dolly Parton.

• The Tennessee songbird is days away from joining the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but last week she was celebrated for her philanthropic work. She accepted the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy on Thursday in New York.

Why it matters: As she accepted the medal, Parton pledged to continue expanding her charitable work.

• "I'm very proud and honored to be a part of anything that is going to make the world a better place," Parton said.
• "I just hope that I can continue doing good things."

State of play: Her Imagination Library is still growing. The program that sends children a new book every month until they turn 5 currently ships out about 2 million books monthly, per the Associated Press.

• California recently embraced the program for children statewide.

The big picture: Parton's philanthropy is almost as legendary as her music.

• In April 2020, she gave $1 million to support COVID-19 research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. That donation powered the creation of the Moderna vaccine.
• She gave another $1 million this year for the study of pediatric infectious diseases.
• And, the Associated Press notes, social media crowdsourcing revealed she quietly pays for Tennessee high school band uniforms.