We really don’t deserve to breathe the same air as Dolly Parton.
The country music icon is a national treasure, and has done so much with the platform she’s created for herself. Parton has made millions of dollars in donations to charities and hospitals over the years, and is responsible for starting both the Dollywood Foundation and the Imagination Library, which both benefited children and helped young people excel in education.
There’s a long list of things that Dolly has done to help others on paper, but in actual, everyday life, she’s as nice as she’s always seemed to be. The only time she apparently not-so-nice is when she goes into businesswoman mode, and that has done her wonders. She maintains the song rights for anything she’s written over her career, which really paid off when Beyonce covered “Jolene” on her latest album. But back to Dolly being the best person in the world…
A recent video has made its rounds online of Dolly Parton stopping to greet, talk to, and take a picture with a child cancer survivor. One young girl had made a sign that read, “Dolly, your music helped me beat cancer,” and Parton couldn’t help but stop and smile. Dolly first said, “Thank you,” then asked if the girl was all better now. The cancer survivor, whose name is Roe Roe, told the country star that she was, and Parton was as happy as she could be.
That’s when she invited the little girl over for a hug and a photo op, telling her to hold up her sign. The father sent over the young cancer survivor’s older sister to join in on the picture, and Dolly happily posed for the picture. Once the photo was snapped, Dolly leaned down and shared how happy she was that the little girl had beat cancer:
“Well, I’m so happy. I’m so happy for you.”
It’s a moment that those two girls and their family won’t ever forget, and yet another example of why Dolly Parton needs to be protected at all costs. She’s been “America’s Sweetheart” for a long time, and it’s because of simple acts of kindness like this that she’ll always hold that title.
You can view the wholesome and heartfelt interaction in the video below: