Dolly Parton Jason Kempin/Getty Images for American Greetings
Dolly Parton is extending a hand to the victims of Hurricane Helene, to the tune of millions of dollars.
The superstar, who made an appearance at a Walmart in Newport, Tennessee on Friday, October 4, personally pledged a million dollars to the Mountain Ways Foundation, which is helping East Tennessee communities that have been impacted by flooding brought on by the devastating storm. Her donation, she noted, would be matched by her companies — including the Dollywood Foundation and Dollywood Parks and Resorts.
Parton, who is a native of East Tennessee, announced during a press conference Friday that she’d be making the donations in partnership with Walmart.
“I look around, and think these are my mountains, these are my valleys. These are my rivers flowing like a stream … These are my people and this is my home,” Parton, 78, stated.
“Remember when we had the fires, everybody pitched in, tried to do everything that they could,” she added, referring to the deadly wildfires that ravaged Sevier County, Tennessee, in 2016. “And so I really think that this is a time for me to step up again for all of us to step up and do what we can. Today, I wanted to announce that from myself personally, just from my own bank account, I’m donating a million dollars today, but there’s a lot to be done, and we’re trying to find other ways to even raise more funds.”
“I know it’s easy for us to say, ‘Oh, things are going to get better’ when things are still really bad,” Parton noted. “All we can say is that we are with you. We love you. We hope that things get better real soon, and we’re going to do our part to try to make that possible. We love you, and we appreciate you. And we thank you. And I think that with God’s help and all the help of all these good people, we’ll make it.”
Parton also told local news station WVLT that she wanted to give back to the community and people who “treat [her] so well” because “it’s personal” to her.
“Because I have a lot of my own relatives here. It was devastating, not just because of my own people here, but because of everyone,” she told the outlet.
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“Who would’ve known that in this little part of the country where I was born and raised would have this kind of devastation?” she added. “I am totally with you because I am part of you.”
According to NBC News, at least 223 people have died as a result of Hurricane Helene since the storm landed in Florida on September 26. Numerous communities in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama are currently struggling with flood damage as well as lack of power and internet service.