Dolly Parton just gets better and better. Pop culture icon, who in recent months welcomed Beyonce enter folding country music, forgive one must admit to being “hammered” Elle King for one blurred birthday gratitudeand—perhaps most gloriously—free yourself from the burden of messages, announced Friday that she would donate $1 million to relief efforts following Hurricane Helene, a Category 4 storm that experts have called one of the largest storm systems once attacked America
The weather event, which affected much of the South late last month, has been linked to more than 200 deaths, with many still considered missing in states including Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Virginia, Tennessee and throughout the Appalachian Mountains. When the scale of damage is focused, it is estimated that the Southeast region suffered damage run so high estimated at about 250 billion USD.
That is the top number in terms of value of the world’s richest person Elon Muskwho is said to have a net worth of $258 billion. Speaking of Musk, it should be noted that so far his gesture towards this disaster has been spreading false and misleading information via X (formerly Twitter), the social media platform he possession as of fall 2022. Musk’s claims have been refuted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the US Secretary of Transportation Butt Peteincluded false allegations that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) blocked relief and recovery flights over the disaster area and that FEMA “is actively blocking citizens from trying to help.”
Buttigieg replied: “No one closes airspace and the FAA does not block legal rescue and recovery flights.” And according to a statement from FEMA, “There are no airspace restrictions in place in North Carolina as rescue efforts continue due to Hurricane Helene…The FAA is working with local authorities to ensure The rescue effort took place safely.”
But while Musk tweeted (and believed to be heading towards Butler, PA join the Republican presidential nomination Donald Trump for a protest at the site of June’s assassination against the former president), Dolly Parton is in action. The singer and actress held a press conference at a Walmart in Newport, Tennessee to announce her $1 million donation to Mountain Road Funda nonprofit organization founded by local businesses and philanthropists after the storm to support recovery throughout the Greater Appalachian region.
“These are special people here; they are my people,” the 78-year-old man from Locust Ridge, Tennessee said at the event.
“I feel like everyone is my people, but everyone here grew up in the mountains just like me, so of course I have a strong connection to them. I can’t bear to look I saw someone getting hurt so I wanted to do it.” I can help after these terrible floods.”
“Who knew that in this small land where I was born and raised there would be such devastation,” she said. “I am completely with you because I am a part of you.”
Parton’s donation will be supported by several of her East Tennessee-based businesses, including her charity, The Dollywood FoundationAdditionally, Walmart US CEO John Furner announced that Walmart, Sam’s Club and the Walmart Foundation will donate an additional $10 million to support storm victims and recovery efforts.
“We’ll be here,” said Furner, whose family moved to Franklin, Tennessee, in 1979. Not until the media leaves but until we recover. And that’s what’s going to happen here, we’re going to recover.”
According to Parton, this donation is just the beginning. “I want to announce that from me personally, just from my own bank account, I’m donating a million dollars today,” she said, “but there’s a lot more to do and we’re trying find other ways to raise even more capital.”
This isn’t the first time Parton has made headlines for a large donation during a time of crisis. the Black Lives Matter supporter donate 1 million USD for vaccine research at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and another $1 million towards research on infectious diseases in children in 2022. But at Friday’s news conference, she rejected those donations, tells WVLT that “You’re never prepared, you’re just trying to step up. God has been good to me and so has the public, so I want to feel like I’m doing my part.”
