Dolly Parton Just Donated Another $1 Million to Medicine—This Time, for Kids
Dolly Parton donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for pediatric infectious disease research.
The generous gifts comes two years after she donated $1 million to the hospital for coronavirus vaccine research.
“I love all children. No child should ever have to suffer,” she said in a statement.
Although Dolly Parton doesn’t have kids of her own, she’s always had a soft spot for younger generations. That’s why she founded her Imagination Library, a program that mails free books to children from birth to age 5, and why she just donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for pediatric infectious disease research.
The generous gift comes two years after the Queen of Country gave the hospital a separate $1 million to fund research for the coronavirus vaccine Moderna. “I love all children. No child should ever have to suffer,” Parton, 76, said in a statement released by the hospital. “I’m willing to do my part to try and keep as many of them as I can as healthy and safe as possible.”
According to the statement, the donation will fund research tackling disease causes, the understanding and prevention of antibiotics resistance, the prevention and treatment of infection, and the diagnosis and treatment of infections in children with cancer. It will also help define the impact of childhood infections throughout the world.
“We are deeply honored by Dolly’s contribution to our research mission,” Mark Denison, M.D., professor of Pediatrics and director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases said in the statement. “For over 40 years our division has been a national and international leader in studies for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of life-threatening infections, and this gift will accelerate our work and support new ideas.”
Parton previously donated to Vanderbilt’s Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital in honor of her longtime friend, Naji Abumrad, M.D., professor of Surgery, and her niece, Hannah Dennison, who was successfully treated for leukemia as a child at the Children’s Hospital.
“Dolly’s previous support to infectious disease research, and also our pediatric cancer program, has already saved countless lives,” Jeff Balser, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO of VUMC and Dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine said in the statement. “This new gift will bolster our defenses against future threats to the safety of this region and society as a whole. It speaks volumes about her passion for people, and we couldn’t be more thankful.”
In 2020, Parton announced her donation to vaccine research on Instagram. “My longtime friend Dr Naji Abumrad, who’s been involved in research at Vanderbilt for many years, informed me that they were making some exciting advancements towards that research of the coronavirus for a cure,” she wrote at the time. “I am making a donation of $1 million to Vanderbilt towards that research and to encourage people that can afford it to make donations.”
What did we do to deserve such an angel on Earth?
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