āJeff [Bezos] and I are so proud to share that we have a new Bezos Courage and Civility Award winner ā a woman who gives with her heart and leads with love and compassion in every aspect of her work,ā Bezosā longtime partner, Lauren Sanchez, posted onĀ InstagramĀ alongside a video of their speech Friday before awarding the grant to the country music legend and longtime philanthropist.
āWe canāt wait to see all the good that youāre going to do with this $100 million award, @DollyParton.ā
Parton, who has donated to various causes for decades, publicly thanked Bezos and Sanchez on Twitter.
āI try to put my money where my heart is. I will do my best to do good things with this money,ā Parton tweeted. āThank you @JeffBezos #LaurenSanchezā
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Parton donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Centerās vaccine research efforts. It was partly used to fund Modernaās Covid-19 vaccine.
She said in anĀ interview at the timeĀ with BBCās āThe One Show,ā that she felt āhonored and proud.ā
āI just felt so proud to have been part of that little seed money that will hopefully grow into something great and help to heal this world,ā she said. āIām a very proud girl today to know I had anything at all to do with something thatās going to help us through this crazy pandemic.ā
In 1988, Parton established the Dollywood Foundation, and eventually The Imagination Library, a program that helps children across the world access books.
Among her philanthropic efforts in her home state of Tennessee, Parton also created the Dolly Parton Scholarship, which provides $15,000 to recipients towards a college education.
Last year, Bezos awarded $100 million each to CNN contributor Van Jones and chef José Andrés.
Bezos, the founder and former head of Amazon.com, said at a news conference at the time the grant had no strings attached.
āThey can give it all to their own charity,ā Bezos said last year. āOr they can share the wealth. It is up to them."
