Dolly Parton's $1 million act of kindness in the wake of devastating event

Dolly Parton has reminded people of her incredible generosity after she announced she is parting with $1 million for a good cause.

The 78-year-old has dipped into her "personal bank account" to donate the money towards relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

Last week, Helene tore through the Southeastern states of the US, causing devastation in cities like Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and many more.

At least 225 have died, with the category four hurricane causing flash flooding and infrastructural damage, and at the time of writing, over half a million properties remain without power.

Dolly revealed her donation at a press conference in her home state of Tennessee on Friday, she said: "From myself, personally, just from my own bank account, I'm donating a million dollars today.

"God has been good to me and so has the public, and I feel that if there's anything I can do to give back in any way I can I'm always willing to do that. I want to feel like I'm doing my part."

She added: "But there's a lot to be done and we're trying to find other ways to even raise more funds."

The Jolene singer also shared that The Dollywood Company, which includes her Dollywood theme park, will match her donation.

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The money will be distributed to the Mountain Ways Foundation, which sustains relief and recovery efforts in East Tennessee, Western North Carolina, and the greater Appalachian region.

"We're starting out with a good little hunk," she continued. "And like I said, we're trying to find new other ways to make money because it's going to take a lot of money, as you know. And it's going to take a long time. There's still so much more to do."

Dolly also reflected on how Hurricane Helene has the area near her hometown of Locust Ridge, Tennessee.

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"Who knew in our little part of the country here – where I was born and raised right down the road – that we would have this kind of devastation," she said at the news conference, which took place in a Walmart parking lot in Newport, Tennessee.

"I look around and I think, these are my mountains. These are my valleys. These are my rivers, flowing like a stream. These are my people.

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"These mountain-coloured rainbows, these are my people, and this is my home… I just want you to know that I am totally with you, 'cause I am part of you. I love you."

Dolly was asked if she had a message for those affected by Helene, and she responded: "I know it's easy for us to say, 'Oh, things are going to get better' when things are still really bad.

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"All we can say is that we are with you, that we love you, we hope that things get better real soon – and we're going to do our part to try and make that possible."

This isn't the first time Dolly has donated money to disaster relief efforts. In 2016, her Dollywood Foundation pledged to donate $1,000 a month to families affected by the wildfires in Sevier County, Tennessee.

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In 2021, she donated a portion of ticket sales from Dollywood and her dinner shows to help those affected by widespread flash flooding in Middle Tennessee.

She also contributed $1 million towards the development of one of the COVID-19 vaccines, and she donated $1 million to pediatric infectious disease research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2022.