Dolly Parton is in the midst of touring behind her new album Pure & Simple, and promoting her brand new Christmas movie Christmas Of Many Colors: Circle Of Love, but that hasn’t stopped her from focusing in on people in need.
The wildfires that are currently raging in the Tennessee Smoky Mountains have come right up to the gates of her namesake theme park Dollywood, and decimated the rural communities in that area in the meantime. Today via a statement shared Dolly announced that she is personally starting a wildfire relief fund called My People’s Fund to help provide aid for people in crisis. The video is above, read her full statement below:
“Hi, this is Dolly. Now I know many of you, like me, have been watching the wildfires that have affected the Great Smoky Mountains around Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where I grew up. The Red Cross has done a wonderful job with their emergency response efforts in helping the people of Servier County after these wildfires. The support, as always, has been overwhelming. Now, I’ve always believed that charity begins at home, and that’s why I’ve asked my companies, including the Dollywood Theme Park, the Dream More Resort, my dinner theatre, including Dixie Stampede and Lumberjack Adventure, plus my Dollywood Foundation, to help me establish a My People’s Fund.
Now we want to provide a hand up to all those families that have lost everything in the fires, and to recover, we want to make sure that the Dollywood Foundation provides a thousand dollars a month to all those families who lost their homes in the fires, until they get back up on their feet. I know it’s been a trying time for my people, and this assistance will help. Beginning Friday you can join our efforts to recover from these fires by visiting DollywoodFoundation.org. Thank you for your help, continued prayers, and concern. And I hope you’ll soon visit our Tennessee Mountains and experience the Tennessee spirit.”
More information on the full set-up of the fund will be available tomorrow, 12/2. The website also notes that the $1,000 stipend for needy families will extend for a six-month period. If you’d like to donate to the Dollywood Foundation’s wildfire relief do so here.
