
Dolly Parton, along with representatives from her East Tennessee businesses — Dollywood Parks & Resorts, The Dollywood Foundation, Dolly Parton’s Stampede, and Pirates Voyage — and Walmart, made significant donations to support flood relief during an event held at Walmart #678 in Newport, Tennessee. The store has been actively helping the local community by offering meals, showers, and laundry facilities to those affected by the devastating flooding caused by Hurricane Helene.
“These are special people here; they’re my people.”
Dolly Parton announced a personal donation of $1 million to the Mountain Ways Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing immediate aid to flood victims. Her East Tennessee businesses, along with The Dollywood Foundation, pledged to match her donation, bringing the total contribution to $2 million. These funds will help Mountain Ways provide essential financial support and coordinate relief efforts, including distributing food, water, and other necessary supplies to the hardest-hit areas.
“These are special people here; they’re my people,” Dolly said. “I feel like all people are my people, but everyone here grew up in the mountains like I did, so 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 light in the world for our friends, neighbors, and even strangers during this dark time.”
In addition to Dolly’s contributions, Walmart U.S. President and CEO John Furner announced that Walmart, Sam’s Club, and the Walmart Foundation would donate a total of $10 million to hurricane relief efforts across the affected states.
“One of the things we love most about Dolly as a partner is her incredible heart and care for her community,” said Furner. “She reminds me of our associates, who are always the first to jump to action when our communities need us. This time is no different, and we will continue to provide support until they have recovered.”
Dollywood has also worked with its sponsor, Coca-Cola, to donate a semi-truck full of water to be distributed in Cocke County, Tennessee. The park also contributed 60,000 reusable masks, 30,000 disposable protective garments, and 2.5 million disposable masks to aid cleanup efforts, along with disposable serving ware and utensils for thousands of meals being distributed by Mountain Ways.
Dollywood theme park will serve as a donation drop-off location for the community, accepting items like cleaning supplies, diapers, personal hygiene items, and pet food to assist in the cleanup.
Dollywood Parks & Resorts President Eugene Naughton encouraged others to donate or volunteer to aid in the recovery. “This beautiful region, which we all love so much, faces an extreme challenge. But the spirit of the people here will help them overcome what lies ahead. We want to encourage others to contribute in any way they can to help their neighbors and communities recover from this difficult time.”
Monetary donations can be made through the Mountain Ways Foundation’s website at mountainwaystn.org.