Dolly Parton, alongside officials from Dollywood and Walmart, has announced significant donations to aid ongoing flood relief in Tennessee.
What’s Happening:
- During a special event Friday afternoon at Walmart #678 in Newport, Tennessee, Dolly Parton, along with officials from Dollywood Parks & Resorts, The Dollywood Foundation, Dolly Parton’s Stampede, Pirates Voyage and Walmart, announced significant donations to aid relief from floods caused by Hurricane Helene.
- The Walmart location has already been aiding the local community by offering meals, as well as showers and laundry facilities to those affected by the unprecedented flooding.
- Dolly herself has made a $1 million donation to the Mountain Ways Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) dedicated to providing immediate assistance to Hurricane Helene flood victims.
- In addition, Dolly’s East Tennessee businesses—Dollywood Parks & Resorts, Dolly Parton’s Stampede, and Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show—as well as The Dollywood Foundation are combining efforts and have pledged to match her donation to Mountain Ways with a $1 million contribution of their own.
- The donations help jumpstart the efforts of Mountain Ways to provide essential financial resources directly and efficiently to the most affected areas. Mountain Ways also will coordinate other relief efforts, including distributing food, water and other necessary supplies.
- Dollywood has also partnered with Coca-Cola to donate a semi-truck full of water for distribution in Cocke County, Tennessee. Dollywood has also donated 60,000 reusable masks, 30,000 disposable protective garments and 2.5 million disposable masks to be used for cleanup efforts across East Tennessee. They also have donated disposable serving ware and utensils for thousands of meals being distributed by Mountain Ways.
- A drop off area for those looking to donate items for the cleanup has also been set up at the entrance to Dollywood.
- The park and officials are encouraging those with the ability to donate or volunteer to do so by visiting mountainwaystn.org.
What They’re Saying:
- Dolly Parton: “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.”
- Eugene Naughton, Dollywood Parks & Resorts President: “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.”