CLOSE Dolly Parton’s Foundation has given nearly $10,000 each to families displaced by the wildfires. Time
"I’m a Smoky Mountain girl," Parton explained, "and I’ve been blessed in my life to become a celebrity. And when you’re in a position to help, you should help.” (Photo: Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY NETWORK)
More than five months after wildfires ravaged portions of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Dolly Parton hasn’t stopped surprising her hometown fire victims with her generosity.
In December, Parton announced her My People Fund and promised each family who had lost its primary residence in the fires $1,000 a month for the next five months. When Parton arrived this week to help dole out the final payments, she brought the nearly 900 families an unexpected bonus – another $5,000 each for a total of $10,000.
She also revealed another surprise – the creation of the Mountain Tough organization to provide ongoing support to fire victims over the next three years and the pledge to fund it with at least $3 million.
Mountain Tough will start June 1 and pick up where the My People Fund left off. Its goal is to help individuals and families impacted by the fire by providing resources for low-income individuals and families in Gatlinburg and the surrounding areas with an eye on the long-term needs of those impacted. The organization will be staffed with case managers who will identify the immediate needs of residents and the most effective ways to use funds to help, which could include transportation to a job or medicine for health conditions caused by the fire.
“It makes me feel humble,” Parton said of being able to raise and donate money to the fire victims. “It makes me feel proud that I’ve been able to do something. But I don’t put myself on any kind of pedestal for doing this because it’s the right thing to do. I’m a Smoky Mountain girl, and I’ve been blessed in my life to become a celebrity. And when you’re in a position to help, you should help.”
The Sevier County area is rebounding from the blaze. Parton said, “everybody has pulled together and things are back to normal ... “All of Sevier County is really up and running,” she said. “It’s better than ever.”
For more information on Mountain Tough, visit www.mountaintough.org.
Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2pODcaZ
karatekate on February 28th, 2018 at 11:49 UTC »
The more I hear about Dolly Parton, the more I appreciate her giving spirit. She's not hurting for money, sure, but she is always looking for ways to give gifts that grow to her Sevierville home.
Because she saw illiteracy as a problem - in general and in the area of Tennessee where she was born and raised -she has a program that delivers a book a month from birth to school age for every child in the Sevierville area.
Because she saw the move of mining and loss of industry create a lack of jobs driving the area even further into poverty, she created Dollywood specifically to provide jobs and attract tourist dollars to bolster the local economy.
"What good is wealth and fame. Fine clothes and diamond rings? It just don't mean a thing. If you ain't got love. " I'm a liiiiitle ashamed to admit how well I know the movie "The Beverly Hillbillies", but she sang this song in it, and it really seems to be her motto. Oh, she likes her sparkly clothes and "enhanced" look, but she loves her Sevierville home and the people there.
Ninjabunny2point0 on February 28th, 2018 at 11:07 UTC »
Wow she's very generous. Between this and what she does for kids, and all the other things she's been known to do she could be canonized
down_vote_magnet on February 28th, 2018 at 10:50 UTC »
Apparently her net worth is half a billion USD, but $9m is $9m whichever way you look at it. Incredibly generous.