Remembering Dolly: The Buddy Program
Dolly Parton once helped slash the dropout rate in her home county by offering students money to finish school. In 1991, she launched something called the Buddy Program in Sevier County, Tennessee. At the time, the dropout rate for the participating classes was around 35%. So Dolly made students a deal.
Every 7th and 8th grader was paired with a buddy. If both of them eventually graduated high school, Dolly would give each student $500. The idea was simple: Give students a reason to encourage each other to stay in school.
And it worked. For those participating classes, the dropout rate reportedly fell from around 35% to just 6%. Dolly is famous for giving away millions of books to children. But years before that program became huge, she was already finding creative ways to keep kids in school. Sometimes changing a life starts with giving someone one more reason not to give up.