Just weeks after Hurricane Helene devastated the American South in 2024, Dolly Parton stood on a stage in her iconic blonde wig, with a song on her lips. She promised the flood-ravaged community in her native Tennessee — to the tune of her classic song “Jolene” — that “we're all here to mend these broken hearts.”
For the music legend and multimillionaire businesswoman, that meant using her wealth for good. That day, she announced a $1 million donation, matched by her Dollywood companies and their partners, to an Appalachian relief nonprofit.
