Dolly Parton Is Covering Tuition and Books for Dollywood Employees Pursuing Higher Education
When we thought we couldn’t love Dolly Parton anymore, she decided to pay for the tuition and books of her Dollywood employees who want to pursue higher education. Herschend Enterprises, the operating partner behind Parton’s Dollywood, her theme park, announced the news.
Herschend Enterprises and Parton will cover all tuition costs for Dollywood employees who want a higher education
Many companies pay for their employees’ higher education. Now, Dollywood is the latest to join the group. Herschend Enterprises, which operates Parton’s Dollywood, Dollywood’s Splash Country, Dolly Parton’s Stampede, Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort, Dollywood Cabins, and Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show, announced the news recently.
Starting Feb. 24, the company will pay 100% of tuition, fees, and books for any Dollywood employee who wants a higher education. It doesn’t matter if you’re seasonal, part-time, or full-time. The perk will be offered through its pilot program, GROW U.
“Hosts will be able to enroll starting on their first day of work in diploma, degree and certificate programs offered through 30 learning partners and in subjects such as business administration and leadership, culinary, finance, technology, and marketing,” Vanity Fair writes.
“The company will also provide partial funding, up to $5,250/year, for 150 additional programs in fields like hospitality, engineering, human resources, and art design.”
The Dollywood Foundation wants to give its employees the chance to ‘learn more’
The Dollywood Foundation’s ultimate goal is to give its employees the tools they need to succeed in life. Their motto is to “learn more” after all.
The president of The Dollywood Company, Eugene Naughton, told Tennessee’s WATE, “We know when our hosts are happy and feel cared for that they are going to pass that along to our guests. The creation of the program allows another avenue for us to care for our hosts.”
He added, “One of The Dollywood Foundation’s key tenets is to ‘learn more.’ This program is created with that very tenet in mind. We want our hosts to develop themselves through advanced learning to fulfill the foundation’s other tenets: care more, dream more, and be more.
“When our hosts strive to grow themselves, it makes our business and our community a truly better place.”
Paying for 3,000 employees’ tuition isn’t Parton’s only philanthropic endeavor. She gives various local groups in Tennessee $1 million a year in donations through her Dollywood Foundation. Her Imagination Library partners with local communities to give children free, high-quality books every month.
During the fight for the coronavirus vaccine, Parton also gave $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to help fund the development of the Moderna vaccine.
What do employees say about working at Dollywood?
Maybe free tuition will improve Dollywood’s overall workplace ratings. According to Indeed, past and present employees have ranked work-life balance, pay and benefits, job security and advancement, and other categories mostly in between three and four stars.
Some employees like that Dollywood appreciates and supports them, but the pay could be better. Meanwhile, Fox reports that Dollywood appears on the Top Workplaces 2022 list and the list of America’s Best Midsize Employers for the second year in a row.
Still, it seems Parton likes to look after her own and will do anything to make her staff happy. By allowing her employees to learn more, she may too, and improve even more.
