In 1988 Dolly Parton pulled every 7th and 8th grader in Sevier County into a room and told them to pick a buddy.
She made them sign a contract.. if BOTH graduate, she hands you both $500. One fails, nobody gets paid.
The county dropout rate went from 35% to 6%.
She handed out the checks herself.
In 1989 she offered $500 to every kid in the county who wanted to go to the local college.
When Gatlinburg burned in 2016, she sent 900 families $1,000 a month for six months.
You've probably heard that part.
Here's the part you haven't:
The fund raised more than expected, so she showed up in May and handed every one of those families another $5,000 on top.
Then she quietly put $3 million into the recovery group that handles the years after the news trucks leave.
She built her county an entire hospital.
She played a benefit concert in 2007, Dollywood and the Stampede matched it, and LeConte Medical Center opened in 2010 with a birthing unit and a women's center in it.
In 2022 she started covering 100% of tuition, books, and fees for Dollywood employees.
Full-time, part-time, AND seasonal.
In 1991 she paid for a bald eagle sanctuary because the birds couldn't be released back into the wild, no press release.
And when Hurricane Helene came through here in Western North Carolina, she wrote a personal check for $1 million and her companies matched it.
She didn't owe North Carolina anything, but she helped us anyway.
She started the Imagination Library because her daddy couldn't read or write. Before he passed, he told her it was the most important thing she ever did.
Rest in Peace, Dolly 🇺🇸
A mother and daughter paid $1,000 per ticket to attend the Indiana Fever vs. Atlanta Dream game specifically to support Sophie Cunningham, only to be told to cover their XX/XY shirts or leave. The daughter’s shirt simply read, “For the girls.”
Earlier, a fan wearing a “Protect Trans Rights” shirt was reportedly shown on the jumbotron before being told to cover hers too.
h/t @adamfrancisco_
Caitlin Clark is the face of the WNBA.
She just had a 45 POINT 10 ASSISTS DOUBLE DOUBLE with 4 steals, 2 blocks and 2 rebounds.
Shot 11/18 from the field and 6/10 from 3 point range in 29 minutes with a +16 +/-.
Other players have scored more points this year and in years pasts, but most of all, IT WAS EXCITING. That’s why the fans love watching her play. Her style is just different than what they are used to seeing.
Caitlin Clark is UNDOUBTEDLY the most popular player in the WNBA.
Caitlin Clark is a record breaking great player on and off the court. There is no denying that.
Caitlin Clark has helped bring record breaking viewership, crowds and money with her to the WNBA.
The issue in the WNBA right now amongst the players is that when you say someone is the “FACE OF THE WNBA” every competitive player will only conceded that designation to a player that they believe as earned it with their play on the court.
The “Face of the WNBA” to the players and former players is A’Ja Wilson. She is respected as such by her peers because she is the best player in the WNBA, the only 4 time WNBA MVP and has won 3 WNBA Championships.
The Face of the WNBA to the fans is Caitlin Clark. She is the player that excites the masses the most with her play style and has broken numerous WNBA records in her first 3 season.
And there lies the disconnect.
Michael Jordan was the face of the NBA before he won a Championship, but it came with extreme push back from the rest of the league in how they guarded him and treated him.
LeBron James was the face of the NBA before he won a Championship, but it came with extreme push back from the rest of the league in how they guarded him and treated him.
When players feel like they are being overshadowed by a player they feel doesn’t have the accolades to warrant it, they fight it. They don’t respect it.
But there is a difference between being the face of the WNBA and being the best player in the WNBA.
Definition of Face of the any professional league,
“Title given to the league's most recognizable, marketable, and impactful player at any given time.”
The fans have spoken on this matter, but many players and former players won’t like it because the gap in the accomplishments between A’Ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark is massive.
Caitlin Clark is the face of the WNBA before she has won a championship and it has come with extreme push back from the players in the way she is guarded and treated. Just like Michael Jordan and LeBron James were.
Will Caitlin Clark ever become the best player in the WNBA? She can. She has the ability to. But right now, she is the WNBA’s most recognizable player.
That’s not disrespectful to the other great players in the WNBA, it’s the reality of where the WNBA was before and after Caitlin Clark showed up.
Regardless, it’s okay to celebrate the greatness of all the WNBA’s great players without turning it into a race war.
For the players, for the fans, for the WNBA and for the kids watching, this has to stop.
St. Louis Park, Minnesota Mayor Nadia Mohamed, who was born in Somalia, just arrived in Somalia to a massive royal welcome.
She said “America is losing its Americaness” because Somalis are afraid after fraud and ICE crackdowns
So why doesn’t she just stay in Somalia??
This is how the daycare fraud works:
- “You watch my kid, I’ll watch yours”
- Enroll these kids into “daycares”
- Collect money from the government
- You and your family then get to live off government subsidies
California has over 35,000+ licensed daycare facilities
Scary: Former Raiders DT Gerald McCoy says he spoke to Maxx Crosby and Maxx told him...
"I am going to be 200% by training camp, and the world is going to get the best version of 98."
McCoy says the Ravens deal “woke up a sleeping giant.”
😱😱😱