Dolly Parton will donate $1 million to Hurricane Helen relief efforts

Native to Appalachia Dolly Parton Friday said he would donate $1 million Hurricane Helen relief efforts

Parton said $1 million will go to the Mountain Wedge Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing immediate relief to Hurricane Helen flood victims.

“These are special people here; they are my people,” Parton said at an event announcing the donation at a Walmart in Newport, Tennessee. “I think all people are my people, but here everyone grew up in the mountains like me, so of course I have a close relationship with them. I can't bear to see anyone hurt, so what I wanted to do was help after this terrible flood. .”

The country music icon was born in Locust Ridge, Tennessee to a poor family living deep in rural Appalachia — and Parton often wrote about her childhood and the region in her songs, including hits like “Smoky Mountain Memories” and “My Tennessee Mountain is Home.”

He was joined by Walmart US CEO John Furner, who said the company, along with Sam's Club and the Walmart Foundation, will donate a total of $10 million to hurricane relief efforts in affected states. Parton's related businesses, including Dollywood Parks and Resorts and The Dollywood Foundation, also announced they will match Parton's donation with another $1 million to the Mountain Ways Foundation.

At least 225 deaths have since been confirmed Helen drifted southeastAnd officials say they expect the death toll to rise as recovery efforts continue. Satellite images show large areas Storm-ravaged North Carolina. President Biden said Friday that rebuilding the damage would cost “billions of dollars.”

Parton said she hopes her donation will inspire others and help with the massive recovery effort.

“I hope we can all be a little bit of light to our friends, to our neighbors — even to strangers — in these dark times they're experiencing.”