Dolly Parton has always worked to give back, specifically to children, and on Friday, she visited Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt to spend time with the kids on the day that her first ever children's album was released. She also pledged to donate $1 million to the hospital.
Parton's new album titled "I Believe in You" was a long time coming, with some of the songs written back when Parton's now grown niece, Hannah Dennison, was at Vanderbilt's children's hospital being treated for leukemia.
"She's 29 years old, but when she was 4 years old, she had leukemia, and they just did a great job with treating her at Vanderbilt," Parton said.
Because of her experiences at Vanderbilt, Parton found that there was no better place to spend her album release day.
"It's got a lot of wonderful songs in it, and a couple of them kind of have something to do with children like you that are in here for treatment," Parton told the kids, adding, "We all need to have someone believe in us, and I believe in you."
The album features songs like "Chemo Hero," which was written for Dennison, but the album also features songs that confront bullying and ones that both children and their parents can enjoy.
"Through music I think children will learn a lot. They're singable little melodies with wonderful little messages, so I'm just hoping that they'll just be better little people," Parton said.
While visiting the hospital, Parton surprised everyone by announcing that she would donate $1 million to the children's hospital to help them continue to provide for the children.
