{"id":357146,"date":"2026-09-25T22:52:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T22:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/357146\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T22:52:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T22:52:14","slug":"manhattan-borough-president-celebrates-dolly-parton-appreciation-day-with-program-promoting-literacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/357146\/","title":{"rendered":"Manhattan Borough President celebrates Dolly Parton Appreciation Day with program promoting literacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nearly one month ago, the world mourned the loss of Dolly Parton, the queen of country music; but her memory and philanthropic spirit live on through Friday\u2019s proclamation that Sept. 25 be officially recognized as Dolly Parton Appreciation Day.<\/a><\/p>\n

In homage to one of Parton\u2019s most beloved feature film roles, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigel, alongside representatives from Dolly Parton\u2019s Imagination Library and Ellen Cassedy, the Co-Founder of the 9-to-5, National Association of Working Women, made the proclamation in The Refectory at Vanderbilt University \u2013 NYC, an educational institution with historic ties to the storied singer.<\/p>\n

\u201cCould there be a more grand place to celebrate Dolly Parton than in this beautiful hall?\u201d said Hoylman-Sigel. \u201cWhat she did for advancing literacy \u2014 not to mention her role in popular culture and workers\u2019 rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the years, Parton has been honored with numerous proclamations of \u201cDolly Parton Day.\u201d In 1970, her hometown of Sevierville, Tennessee, declared a Dolly Parton Day; in 2011, the South Carolina General Assembly declared June 3 as Dolly Parton Day, in connection with the grand opening of a dinner theater associated with the singer. This year, on Jan. 19, the State of Tennessee declared Parton\u2019s 80th birthday to be Dolly Parton Day across the state.<\/p>\n

\"Manhattan<\/a>Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-SigelPhoto by Jonathan Portee \"\"<\/a>Sept. 25 is officially Dolly Parton Appreciation Day in NYC.Photo by Jonathan Portee<\/p>\n

With a seven-decade-long career that saw some 3,000 songs written and over 100 million records sold, it is undisputed that Parton was one of the best-selling musical artists in history. But reasons for celebrating Parton\u2019s many achievements don\u2019t stop at what she\u2019s accomplished as a musician.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Among her many philanthropic ventures is the oft-celebrated Dolly Parton\u2019s Imagination Library<\/a>, an organization that boasts gifting over 300 million books to children across five countries.<\/p>\n

Like many of her songs, Parton\u2019s advocacy for childhood literacy came from a place close to home, as her own father, Robert Lee Parton<\/a>, was illiterate and never learned to read or write.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy daughter received books from the Imagination Library; they\u2019re given to children five and under without regard to income or background, and I think it made a big difference in her life just as it has for millions of children across the country,\u201d said Hoylman-Sigel.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/a>New York City Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels reads to kids at the event.Photo by Jonathan Portee \"New<\/a>New York City Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels reads to kids at the event.Photo by Jonathan Portee \"\"<\/a>Sept. 25 is officially Dolly Parton Appreciation Day in NYC.Photo by Jonathan Portee<\/p>\n

Dolly Parton\u2019s influence is wide-reaching in ways that are sometimes surprising. For example, the many millions of Americans who received a Moderna vaccine have, in part, Parton to thank after she donated $1 million to research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, at a critical stage early in the vaccine\u2019s development.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Other lesser-known connections to Parton include New York City Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels, whose mother-in-law is Ellen Cassedy, the Co-Founder of the 9-to-5, National Association of Working Women, and the inspiration for the hit comedy film of the same name starring Parton.<\/p>\n

In celebration of this serendipitous connection, Chancellor Samuels read from Dolly Parton\u2019s best-selling children\u2019s picture book Coat of Many Colors to a class of kindergarteners from NYC\u2019s P.S. 11.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many in attendance were delighted to hear remarks from elected officials who also hold a special place in their hearts for the impact Dolly Parton has had on their lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nearly one month ago, the world mourned the loss of Dolly Parton, the queen of country music; but…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357147,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[30608,126738,75,84,83,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-357146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-dolly-parton","tag-dolly-parton-appreciation-day","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/357147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}