Dolly Parton to donate $1000 a month to families in Tennessee

Dolly Parton will donate $1000 per month for six months to families affected by the Tennessee wildfires.

The 70-year-old singer has announced plans to make the donations through her Dollywood Foundation as well as her various Dollywood Companies – including the Dollywood Theme Park and DreamMore Resort – in the hope that her charitable deeds will be able to rebuild the homes and lives of those affected by the fires which broke out in the Great Smoky Mountains earlier this week.

The ‘9 to 5’ singer said: "As you may know by now, there have been terrible wildfires in the Great Smoky Mountains, the same mountains where I grew up and where my people call home.

"I have always believed that charity begins at home. That’s why I’ve asked my Dollywood Companies – Including the Dollywood Theme Park, and DreamMore Resort; My dinner theater attractions including Dixie Stampede and Lumberjack Adventure; and my Dollywood Foundation to help me establish the My People Fund."

The Dollywood Foundation website is currently accepting donations for the cause, where it says more information will be available to the public on Friday (12.02.16).

The site reads: "We want to provide a hand up to those families who have lost everything in the fires. To aid in their recovery effort, the Dollywood Foundation will provide $1,000 a month to all of those families who lost their homes in the fires for six months so that they can get back on their feet."

The news comes after the country legend had to have her theme park evacuated on Monday (11.28.16) after the blazes ripped through Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.

Dolly said at the time: "I have been watching the terrible fires in the Great Smoky Mountains and I am heartbroken. I am praying for all the families affected by the fire and the firefighters who are working so hard to keep everyone safe.

"It is a blessing that my Dollywood theme park, the DreamMore Resort and so many businesses in Pigeon Forge have been spared."