Dolly Parton announced on Friday that she would donate $1 million to the Mountain Ways Foundation in order to provide assistance to Hurricane Helene flood victims. Dolly’s East Tennesee businesses (Dollywood Parks & Resorts, Dolly Parton’s Stampede, and Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show), as well as The Dollywood Foundation also announced that they will match her donation with a contribution of their own. This amounts to $2 million in relief efforts.
“These are special people here; they’re my people. I feel like all people are my people, but everyone here grew up in the mountains just like I did so of course I have a close connection to them. I can’t stand to see anyone hurting, so I wanted to do what I could to help after these terrible floods. I hope we can all be a little bit of light in the world for our friends, our neighbors—even strangers—during this dark time they are experiencing.
I’m also appreciative that all my East Tennessee businesses and the folks at Walmart are contributing to flood relief. This money will certainly help a lot of people, but there is still so much more this area needs. I hope we’ll see more people make donations or volunteer because the people here need so much right now.”
Dolly Parton
Walmart U.S. President and CEO John Furner was also present at the event, and he stated that the company, including Sam’s Club and the Walmart Foundation, would donate a total of $10 million to Helene relief as well.
The Dollywood Theme Park has also said it will act as a donation drop-off location for the time being, so people can provide items for the cleanup efforts. They have said they currently are in need of the following items:
- buckets with lids
- tarps
- shovels
- rakes
- trash bags
- work gloves
- masks
- cleaning wipes
- diapers
- baby formula and food
- can openers
- first aid supplies
- personal hygiene items
- kitty litter
- new socks and underwear
- clean towels and blankets
- laundry detergent
- pet food
- hand sanitizer
“This beautiful region which we all love so much has an extreme challenge ahead of it. And while it may be quite daunting right now, we know the spirit of the people in this region will help them overcome what faces them in the days ahead. We want to encourage others to donate or to volunteer in any way they can to help their neighbors and communities recover from this difficult time.
Dollywood’s share of the donation from our ‘Love Shares’ program helps Mountain Ways get started in providing immediate assistance where needed. As local leaders are able to better assess their communities in the coming weeks, we will determine additional ways we can assist in the recovery effort.”
Eugene Naughton, Dollywood Parks & Resorts President