Dolly Parton

Because it always is

WINNER

Dolly Parton, making our children’s lives better one book at a time.

By an overwhelming margin, you have chosen Dolly Parton to be our Human of the Week. She recently announced that Dollywood, her Tennessee theme park, will cover the college tuition and associated expenses of all of its 11,00 full- and part-time employees. The benefit will go into effect on a new employee’s first day of work. This gesture really resonates especially after Jill Biden addressed the fact that free two-year community college will not be part of the Build Back Better legislation.

This is just the latest of Dolly’s decades-long philanthropy. Her Imagination Library has gifted free books to children from birth to 5 years old since 1995. To date almost 2 million kids have been registered for the program and almost 175 million books have been donated. Give if you can. Dolly recently donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University for research that helped fund the creation of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

When the news of Dolly’s latest act of generosity broke, I learned for the first time that she is a 2022 nominee for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I thought, “How is it possible that Dolly Parton is not already in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?” Seriously, HoF—rectify this massive oversight immediately.

Here are some of your comments:

“[Dolly] never stops finding ways to help the world.”

“A truly kind and generous human being---someone we can all aspire to model in our own lives.”

Dolly “has been a good human for many many years without any publicity, and her humility is refreshing.”

“She has long been a bright light and amazing example to others.”

All of which I co-sign.

RUNNER-UP

Ali Velshi recently started the #VelshiBannedBookClub. He wrote, “Simply put, banning books is bad. It deprives people young and old of exposure to ideas, concepts, and world views that are not their own. It stifles curiosity. It perpetuates stereotypes. And when you dampen curiosity, you weaken our ability to think critically – to know when you are being fooled. Banning books is going to make us into a stupid society, vulnerable to misinformation and manipulation.”

Follow Ali on Twitter @velshi & @velshimsnbc to find out the banned book of the week. And email any questions or comments you might have to mystory@velshi.com. What a great guy!

HONORABLE MENTION

To those stone-cold Gazpacho Police and the Luftwaffle (thanks, Valerie!).

And hey there Willow Biden!

Willow Biden—one regal cat. She already owns the place.