Country star Dolly Parton announced a massive donation to help the victims of Hurricane Helene following the devastation to the southeastern states of Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas.
Speaking at a press conference held at a Walmart in Newport, Tennessee, the 78-year-old country singer said — just as during the 2016 wildfires when she and others stepped up — this is another time to do the same.
“We all have seen the devastation,” Parton said. “I mean, who knew in our little part of the country here, where I was born, raised just right down the road, that we would have this kind of devastation?”
“And I look around, and I think these are my mountains, these are my valleys,” she added. “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.”
“Today, I wanted to announce that from myself personally, just from my own bank account, I’m donating $1 million dollars today. But also with my Dollywood companies and all the people I’m involved with … [Dollywood Foundation, etc] and we’ve added another $1 million to that,” the country singer continued, saying it’s going to take a lot of money and a long time.
During a Q&A with local reporters, Parton said watching people suffer is “personal because I have a lot of my own relatives that live here. When we heard about this, it was devastating, not just because it was my family, but all these people feel like my people. We all feel related, and we are in some sort of way.”
“It just devastated me just to know that we had to suffer like that. You don’t want to see anybody suffering, especially me, so anything that we can do to help,” she added. “I was heartbroken like everybody else, just amazed and devastated by it.”
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“I know it’s easy for us to say, ‘Oh, things are going to get better’ when things are still really bad,” the country singer continued. “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. We’ll be better than ever, one of these days.”
At least 180 people across Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Virginia have already been confirmed dead in the wake of the hurricane, with the death toll expected to rise. Millions were left without power, internet access, and cell phone service.
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