Living in Nashville, with a daughter who is a music artist and a son-in-law in the music industry, there has been no shortage of conversation lately about Dolly Parton and the legacy she has built.
Whether you love country music or not, it is hard not to admire what Dolly has done with her success. She has given her time, influence, energy and, yes, a whole lot of money to the things closest to her heart. Somehow, she made philanthropy look almost as natural as rhinestones.
One of the best examples is her Imagination Library. Dolly created it in 1995 as a tribute to her father, who could not read or write. What began in her heart as love for her dad grew into a worldwide effort that has placed hundreds of millions of books into the hands of children, giving them an opportunity her father never had.
But what strikes me most is that Dolly gave without requiring a guaranteed return.
She could not know which child would learn to read because a book arrived in the mail, which dream might be sparked or which family might be changed. I am sure she has heard many of those stories over the years, but the stories were never the condition of the gift. She gave because she believed opening the door mattered.
I understand that more today than ever.
I am often asked why I am so passionate about the work of the Floor Covering Education Foundation. Much of my answer goes back to my dad, Bill Mhoon.
My dad believed in hard work, dedication and taking pride in what you did. The flooring industry provided a solid livelihood for our family and, for more than 42 years, it has done the same for mine.
Somewhere along the way, that history became more than a career. It became a purpose.
Of course, “purpose” sounds much more inspirational than it sometimes feels. Some days it looks like endless meetings, building programs, explaining workforce development for the 400th time and asking for every available penny to keep the mission moving. I have learned that nonprofit work involves an impressive amount of asking people for money while trying very hard not to sound like you are asking people for money.
So, no, this is not another article asking you to support FCEF.
Although technically…it is.
Because the bigger point is what we are building together.
Our industry has spent generations developing better products, stronger warranties, beautiful designs and trusted brands. We must now place that same value on developing the skilled professionals who install those products.
We may never know every student whose life changes because a training program existed that introduced them to our industry. We may never see every family supported by a career that began in one of our classrooms. We may never meet every dealer or manufacturer whose customer experience was protected by a better-trained installer.
That does not make the investment any less valuable.
FCEF cannot continue this work without financial support. Every program we build, scholarship we provide, instructor we train and student we introduce to this industry depends on people and companies willing to invest in the mission.
Please donate to FCEF and help us open the next door. Then go one step further—share your knowledge, mentor a student, support a new installer or help create an opportunity that did not exist before.
We may not personally see every life changed by that investment. Dolly couldn’t, either. Sometimes giving simply means believing enough in what comes next to help make it possible.
Finding a purpose bigger than yourself makes getting up each morning a whole lot more meaningful.
In a world full of takers, be a Dolly.
Kaye Whitener is executive director of the Floor Covering Education Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting recruitment, training and retention of floor covering installers. For more information, email kwhitener@fcef.org.