Employees of Dolly Parton’s family amusement park known as “Dollywood” located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, will soon be able to participate in a program that will pay 100% of tuition, fees, and books if they choose to further their education.
Herschend Enterprises, the nation’s largest privately-owned themed attractions corporation, and Dolly Parton’s operating partner in Dollywood announced Tuesday that they will fund the educational fees through a new program called GROW U. It will be available for seasonal, part-time, and full-time employees beginning Feb. 24.
***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***
The GROW U program offers workers more than 100 diploma, degree, and certificate programs from 30 “learning partners,” according to a Tuesday news release from Dollywood. It will also provide partial funding, up to $5,250 per year, for 150 other programs in hospitality, engineering, human resources, and art design.
Herschend selected Guild Education to power the GROW U program. Guild Education provides similar programs to employees of Chipotle, Discover, Hilton, Macy’s, Target, Walmart, The Walt Disney Company, and more.
In addition, Herschend Enterprises will also offer the benefit to all of its 11,000 employees at 25 U.S. attractions, including Pink Adventure Tours in Tennessee, Arizona, and Nevada; Wild Adventures in Georgia; Adventure Aquarium in New Jersey; Silver Dollar City in Missouri; as well as Kentucky Kingdom and Newport Aquarium in Kentucky, according to a press release.
“One of The Dollywood Foundation’s key tenets is to ‘learn more.’ This program is created with that very tenet in mind. We want our hosts to develop themselves through advanced learning to fulfill the foundation’s other tenets: care more, dream more and be more. When our hosts strive to grow themselves, it makes our business and our community a truly better place,” Eugene Naughton, president of The Dollywood Co., said in a statement.
Andrew Wexler, CEO of Herschend Enterprises, said in a statement, “Herschend’s GROW U is not only a significant and transformational investment in our employee’s growth but also our love culture in action.”
“Herschend is rooted in love – it’s evident at every Herschend property, every day –in the way we treat and support each other, how we Create Memories Worth Repeating for guests, and most importantly, how we care for our employees,” he continued.
“Whether it’s to pursue a new dream or advance their career with us, we care about our employees’ personal and professional growth, because we believe that their futures should be grown with love, not loans,” Wexler added. “Our team members’ success is our success – and that’s why we’re thrilled to make this benefit available to all, regardless of their role in the company and without the burden of debt.”
Headquartered in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, the company also co-owns and co-operates with partners Dolly Parton and her company The Dollywood Company, the dinner, and theatre company Pirates Voyage Dinner and Show in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Dolly Parton’s Stampede (formerly Dixie Stampede).
Herschend properties entertain more than 14 million guests annually.
The remainder of this article is available in its entirety at CBN