Dolly Parton Grew Up ‘Dirt Poor’ & Never Saw A Toilet Until She Was 8 – She Now Gives Generously To Charities

Feb 06, 2023 by apost team

When it comes to country music royalty, Dolly Parton is easily one of the most iconic names in the business. Known for her impeccable songwriting skills and unique singing voice, Parton has been a huge influence on the music industry for decades with hits such as “Jolene,” “9 to 5” and “Coat of Many Colors.” She also penned and originally recorded “I Will Always Love You” in 1973 before it was later made famous by vocal powerhouse Whitney Houston in 1992.

Along with being a singer and songwriter, Parton is also best known for her work as an actress, author, businesswoman and humanitarian. She has been a pivotal figure in the industry for more than five decades, with her debut album, “Hello, I’m Dolly,” being released in 1967. With so much time in the spotlight has come ample time for Parton to become a role model to many, as she has always made an effort to make a positive impact on the world with both her music and her personal actions.

Born on Jan. 19, 1946, Parton was raised in Tennessee and was the fourth of 12 children, and grew up poor. However, she had a real passion for music and moved to Nashville the day after she graduated from high school, embarking on what would become a lifelong career. Today, Parton is 77 years old and was named one of People’s People of the Year in 2021 for her philanthropic contributions and her overall state as a true icon. Read on to find out more about Parton’s impoverished childhood and how it inspired her charitable accomplishments through the years.

Parton was raised in a one-room cabin by the banks of Little Pigeon River in Pitman Center, Tennessee. Her father was a sharecropper who was illiterate, while her mother, with Welsh ancestry, regaled her children with stories and ballads. She once described her family at the time as “dirt poor,” but also later said:

“We were poor but I never felt poor. We always had food, a roof over our heads and clothes on our backs. It wasn’t exactly what we wanted but Mama and Daddy were always quick to point out the families that suffered far more than we ever did. It all seemed just natural to me. It’s only when you look back at beans and cornbread, sleeping several to a bed, using newspaper for insulation and dealing with an outhouse that you realise – yes, I guess we were poor.”

One of the challenges was the family barely fitting in the cabin, forcing them to spend much of their time outside. In 1978, she also revealed the first time she saw a toilet was when she was 8 years old at her aunt’s house.

“I was afraid to use it. You know, I just thought it was going to suck us right down,” she recalled. 

Parton said the family made their own soap and, during winter, would only bathe about once a week. However, in high school, she said she had to wash every day, as they “all slept together” and the “kids peed on me every night.”

Despite the difficulties of her childhood, Parton retains fond memories and lessons from those years.

“My family will always be my greatest love. Sometimes it gets lost in the shuffle but there’s an element of family in everything I do. My music is shaped by my family,” she said.

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Parton is worth an estimated $375 million, and her incredulous wealth is equaled by her generous heart. Parton has given back in tremendous ways, much through her Dollywood Foundation set up in 1988. Initially established to create scholarships for students of Parton’s old high school, it has grown to include other schools, as well as deserving teachers.

Among the foundation’s most special programs, founded in tribute to Parton’s father in 1995, is the Imagination Library. First set up in Tennessee, it expanded to all 50 states and distributes about 1.3 million books to almost two million children in the United States every month. When it delivered its 100 millionth book in 2018, Parton told NPR she never thought the initiative would “get this big.”

"I just wanted to do something great for my dad and for my home county and, at the most, maybe a couple of counties over. But then it just took wings of its own, and I guess it was meant to be," she said.

Parton also donates and raises money during periods of hardship. Her My People Fund, set up in the wake of the devastating Great Smoky Mountains wildfires in 2016, raised more than $9 million to help 900 families. Parton also donated to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center after her niece successfully underwent leukemia treatment there. 

Among other charitable causes she has assisted are the American Red Cross, HIV/AIDS charities and animal rights groups. She also became a vocal advocate for Covid vaccines in 2020, and her $1 million contribution played a substantial role in the development of the Moderna vaccine. 

Parton said her acts of charity come naturally to her. She told People:

"I'm kind of addicted to the feeling of giving. Knowing that I'm doing something good for someone else."

What are your thoughts on Dolly Parton’s generosity? Do you feel her background played a role in how much she gives back to the community? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to friends and family, too.