Look, my mom loved voting. And, often election day fell on her birthday. She felt doubly-blessed that way. She readily and continously reminded me of the importance of voting. As such, since I was of age, I have voted in election I was eligible for. Due to some series of moves, there were some elections that proved problematic. For sure, however, I have voted in all the Presidential elections.

Our vote does matter. I also believe we sometimes get the goverment we deserve. If you don’t vote then activate in some other way. You’ve heard this all before. Moving on.

Now, here’s the thing. While I take elections very seriously I do sometimes just want to submit a write-in candidate. Sometimes choice A and choice B are abysmal. It’s true. You know who is an upstanding, caring, well-known person? Dolly Parton. Yes, the wonderful Country Western singer. That song Jolene is one of my all-time favorites. And, my mom loved her.

Dolly Parton was a 2022 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy recipient. Her giving back to the community and nation and world at-large is legendary. In her acceptance speech, she noted “I’ve always believed that if you are in a position to help, you should help, and I truly hope that I can be an inspiration for others to lift up those around them.”

What specifically has she given to? She has made generous donations to the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, Save the Music Foundation, the Boot Campaign and more. One great program she’s given to is the Buddy Program in Tennessee. Actually, a specific country that had huge school dropout rates. The program gave $500 to every seventh and eighth grader who finished high school. According to the organization records, the initiative was successful and the dropout rate declined from 35 percent to just 6 percent.

She’s had an impact at multiple levels that have had ripple effects. She’s got my vote.