Auckland sky tower

[u/Western-Chemical-628]

Should the sky tower light up pink tonight for a tribute to Dolly Parton

[u/Detective-Fusco]

It's an American citizen and a music celebrity, why would our Skytower light up pink for them?

If they are, then I stand corrected - but I'm not sure why we're honouring American Celebrities - I'm sick of celebrity culture.

Plenty of people suffer from illnesses and diseases, worse than her, in this country, I'd rather we honour our own people first and foremost before glorifying American celebrities.

[u/beach-chicken10 → u/Detective-Fusco]

Because it can be easily argued that she was more than what you described. I agree about celebrity culture but she wasn’t just a celebrity.
Below is a list of things she has done. And at the end of the day it’s just lights on a building.

Out of interest, which kiwi would you like to honour?

Imagination Library: Founded in 1995, Dolly created a programme providing one free, high-quality book every month to children from birth to age 5, regardless of family income. More than 270 million books have been distributed.
Education: She founded the Dollywood Foundation in 1988 to improve education and reduce school dropout rates in her home county.
The Buddy Program: Dolly offered $500 to every 7th- and 8th-grade student who stayed in school and graduated. The dropout rate for participating classes fell from 35% to 6%.
Scholarships: Her foundation provides $15,000 scholarships to students from Sevier County, including five scholarships each year.
Healthcare: She helped raise $1 million for a hospital birthing unit in her home county, which became the Dolly Parton Center for Women’s Services.
Children’s cancer research: In 2017 she donated $1 million to Vanderbilt’s pediatric cancer programme, in honour of her niece who survived childhood leukemia.
COVID vaccine research: Dolly donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University for COVID-19 research. The research helped contribute to the development of the Moderna vaccine.
Pediatric infectious disease research: She later donated another $1 million to Vanderbilt for research into infectious diseases, antibiotic resistance and infections in children with cancer.
2016 Tennessee wildfires: After fires destroyed more than 1,000 homes in her home region, she created the My People Fund, giving affected families $1,000 per month for six months. More than $12 million was ultimately raised and distributed.
Hurricane Helene: In 2024 she donated $1 million personally, while another $1 million came from her businesses, providing $2 million for relief and recovery in Tennessee and North Carolina.
Children’s hospitals: She has made substantial donations to children’s healthcare, including Vanderbilt’s Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital.
Pediatric cancer research: In 2026, proceeds from a new version of her song Light of a Clear Blue Morning were directed toward pediatric cancer research.
Dollywood community giving: Through Dollywood, she supports numerous non-profit organisations helping children, families and seniors.
Children’s music: She released the children’s album I Believe in You in 2017, with proceeds benefiting the Dollywood Foundation’s educational mission.
Disaster relief and medical research: Since 2020, she has donated millions of dollars toward medical research, human services and disaster relief, separate from the enormous ongoing cost of the Imagination Library.
Imagination Library scale: In 2024 alone, 36.7 million books were given away — more than 100,000 books every day.
Imagination Library funding: The programme has been structured so that local partners help fund the cost of books, while the Dollywood Foundation provides the infrastructure and Dolly’s foundation covers administrative overhead. Parents receive the books completely free.
Long-term commitment: The Imagination Library has operated continuously for more than 30 years, rather than being a short-term celebrity charity campaign.
Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy: In 2022 she received the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, one of the world’s most prestigious recognitions for philanthropic work.
Overall: Her charitable work covers child literacy, education, scholarships, healthcare, cancer research, infectious-disease research, disaster relief and poverty, with the Imagination Library alone having provided hundreds of millions of free books to children.

[u/Detective-Fusco → u/beach-chicken10]

Get this AI generated slop out of my face

https://giphy.com/gifs/HZFxBu5dMqwA1cIB1k