Dolly Parton, Jason Aldean, and more country music stars are stepping up to help out victims of Hurricane Helene.
Parton Makes Huge Donation
Parton, 78, donated $1 million of her own money to Hurricane Helene relief efforts. She announced her donation during a press conference on Friday.
“I’m happy to be here,” Parton said. “And I’m sure a lot of you are wondering where I’ve been. Everybody’s saying, ‘Where’s Dolly? Well, I’ve been like everybody else, trying to absorb everything going on, trying to figure out all the best ways to do this,” she continued before singing about Hurricane Helene to the tune of her hit song, ‘Jolene.'”
Parton grew up in poverty in rural Tennessee. That’s why it’s particularly important to her to give back to the community in which she was raised.
“We’re all here to mend these broken hearts, and that’s what I’m doing here,” she said. “So, I really, really wish that we were all together for another reason.”
‘With God’s Help…We’ll Make It’
“But we all have seen the devastation,” Parton added. “I mean, who knew in our little part of the country here where I was born, raised just right down the road, that we would have this kind of devastation? And 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, these mountain-colored rainbows…these are my people. And this is my home.”
Absolutely beautiful and touching.
Parton concluded with a message of hope to her fellow Americans.
“I know it’s easy for us to say, ‘Oh, things are going to get better’ when things are still really bad,” she said. “All we can say is that we are with you. We love you…we hope that things get better real soon, and we’re going to do our part to try to make that possible. We love you, and we appreciate you. And we thank you. And I think that with God’s help and all the help of all these good people, we’ll make it.”
Aldean Also Steps Up
Country music star Jason Aldean also stepped up to donate to Hurricane Helene relief efforts. He and his wife Brittany are giving $500,000 to the cause. His donation will be going to the Boone, North Carolina-based humanitarian organization Samaritan’s Purse.
“My wife is from Charlotte, North Carolina, and as we know, North Carolina got hammered pretty hard by this, so we also want to donate to the state of Georgia and Florida to Samaritan’s Purse as well,” Aldean explained. “Obviously, Georgia means a lot to us, Carolina means a lot to her and we’re gonna try our best to take care of them the bets we can.”
The country music star Morgan Wallen will be donating $500,000 to Hurricane Helene relief efforts as well.
“My family in East Tennessee are safe but I know many are absolutely devastated there and in multiple states,” Wallen stated on his Instagram Story. “Those hills and hollers are very important to me in so many ways. It is going to take a monumental effort and I am in contact with my team and others working on ways I can help.”
“We can’t thank Morgan Wallen enough for his heart and generous $500,000 donation to impact help on the ground now in the areas affected by Hurricane Helene, including his beloved East Tennessee,” Trevor Riggin, Red Cross’ national president for humanitarian services, said in response.
Related: Jason Aldean Stops Concert To Reunite Military Family In the Crowd In Magical Moment
Eric Church Donates Proceeds From New Song
The country music star Eric Church has just announced that he will be donating all the publishing royalties for his new song, “Darkest Hour,” to the people of his home state of North Carolina. This state has been particularly devastated by Hurricane Helene.
“From Western North Carolina, East Tennessee, Upstate South Carolina, parts of Georgia and even Florida which took a direct hit, there are so many places that were impacted,” Church told Fox News. “Specifically in the area that I’m from, the mountains of Western North Carolina were devastated. There are places that are just biblically gone. These are our family members, they’re our friends, they’re our neighbors – and they’re in dire need of help.”
Church added that he is dedicating his new song to “the unsung heroes, the people who show up when the world’s falling apart.”
“This is for the folks who show up in the hardest times, offering a hand when it’s most needed, and standing tall when others can’t,” he continued. “Even in your darkest hour, they come running. When the night’s at its blackest, this is for those who are holding the light, guiding the lost and pulling us through.”
Check out Church’s song for yourself in the video below.
We applaud these country music stars for stepping up to help those who have been impacted by Hurricane Helene. Please join us in saying a prayer for all the victims of this natural disaster!