Dolly Parton is here to save the day yet again – but this time, not with a catchy tune or a wig collection that could block out the sun. Nope, Dolly’s wrangling up a cool million dollars to help out the victims of Hurricane Helene. That’s right, a whole million dollars! She probably found it in the couch cushions of Dollywood.
On Friday, October 3rd, our queen of country music strutted onto the stage like the hero we didn’t deserve but definitely needed, announcing that she’s dropping a serious chunk of change through the Mountain Ways Foundation to support those affected. Yes, Dolly has swooped in once more, like the glittery fairy godmother of Tennessee, sprinkling kindness and money all over the place.
But wait, she’s not doing this solo. Dolly teamed up with Walmart, and they’re not just here for the rollback prices! Oh no, Walmart heard the country music queen was on the case and thought, “Well, if Dolly’s putting in a million, we better up our game.” So, they bumped their hurricane relief efforts from $6 million to $10 million, because even corporate giants know that when Dolly’s involved, you bring your A-game.
At a press conference, Dolly gave a speech that probably made everyone in the room want to call their momma and cry into a tub of biscuits. She said, and I quote (brace yourselves), “I really, really wish that we were all together for another reason.” Now, if you weren’t already sobbing into your cowboy boots, you might be by the end of this. Dolly continued, saying that the devastation of Hurricane Helene has hit her right in the rhinestones. “Who knew in our little part of the country, where I was born and raised just down the road, we’d have this kind of devastation?” she said, making us all want to pack up and move to Tennessee to help rebuild her mountains with nothing but love and elbow grease.
And then, in true Dolly fashion, she waxed poetic about her home, making us all wish we were standing in those same mountains, looking out over those valleys and rivers flowing like a dream sequence in a country music video. “These are my mountains,” she declared, “these are my valleys. These are my rivers flowing like a stream.”
Y’all, if Dolly says it, we believe it. These are her people, and this is her home. And now, thanks to her, a whole lot of people are going to get the help they need. Dolly Parton: singer, songwriter, philanthropist, and apparently, guardian angel of the Appalachian Mountains. Bless her heart – and her wallet.
