Dolly Parton Adds To Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts In A Big Way: ‘These Are My People’

Country music legend Dolly Parton, known for her charitable efforts, revealed that she’s personally donating $1 million toward Hurricane Helene relief as she spoke from a Walmart parking lot in Newport, Tennessee on Friday.

The donation will go toward the Mountain Ways Foundation, a nonprofit supporting recovery efforts and survivors of the deadly storm in eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina and the greater Appalachian region.

Parton added that several of her businesses — Dollywood Parks & Resorts, Dolly Parton’s Stampede, and Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show — along with her Dollywood Foundation have also matched her $1 million donation.

“I look around and I think — these are my mountains, these are my valleys, these are my rivers flowing like a stream, these are my people, these mountain colored rainbows, these are my people and this is my home,” said Parton, who partnered with Walmart to help with hurricane relief.

The singer also broke out into a heartfelt remix of her song “Jolene” in response to the deadly hurricane which has killed over 200 people.

“Helene, Helene, Helene, Helene. You came in here and broke us all apart,” she sang. “Helene, Helene, Helene, Helene. But we’re all here to mend these broken hearts.”

Parton — a Tennessee native — recalled how the community “pitched in” following 2016 wildfires in Sevier County, one of the largest natural disasters ever seen in the state.

“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,” said Parton, whose My People Fund reportedly gave over $8 million to those who lost their homes due to the wildfires.

Walmart US president and CEO John Furner, at the same event, also revealed that the retail giant — along with Sam’s Club and the Walmart Foundation — would raise its recent commitment of $6 million to a $10 million donation toward Hurricane Helene recovery.

Aside from the donations, Dollywood worked with Coca-Cola to provide a semi-truck of water to Tennessee’s Cocke County. It also has donated both reusable and disposable masks as well as disposable protective garments.