Dolly Parton did not wait for anyone to ask. Within 48 hours of the wildfires that tore through her home county, she had already set up a fund to put cash directly into her neighbors' hands.

The Fires That Reached Her Doorstep

On November 28, 2016, wildfires swept through Sevier County, Tennessee, tearing through Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge near the edge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The fires took 14 lives and destroyed or damaged more than 2,400 homes and buildings, making them the deadliest wildfires in Tennessee history.

A burned-out house and two burned-out cars in smoke after the November 2016 Gatlinburg, Tennessee wildfires — The aftermath in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, after the November 2016 wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes.

Dolly Parton grew up in these same mountains, one of twelve children in a family with little money and a lot of neighbors who looked out for each other.

The My People Fund

Two days after the fires started, Dolly announced the My People Fund in a video message, with the Dollywood Foundation set up to run it.

"I've always believed charity begins at home, and my home is someplace special," Parton said. "We want to provide a hand up to those families who have lost everything in the fires. I know it has been a trying time for my people, and this assistance will help get them back on their feet."

The fund had one rule. Any family, renter or homeowner, whose primary home was destroyed or left uninhabitable by the fires would receive $1,000 a month for up to six months, starting in December 2016.

There was no means test beyond proof of loss. The money went out as checks, distributed in person at community centers around Sevier County.

Nearly 900 Families, One Check at a Time

The first distribution ran over four days in December 2016. By the end of it, 884 families had received their initial payments, with nearly 900 ultimately enrolled.

A second round of checks went out January 26 and 27, 2017, at the LeConte Events Center in Pigeon Forge. Grocery chain Food City alone chipped in $250,000.

On December 13, 2016, GAC aired a telethon called Smoky Mountains Rise: A Benefit for the My People Fund, simulcast on AXS-TV, RFD and the Heartland Network. Donations poured in from across the country, pushing the total raised past $9 million.

The Final Check Was Five Times Bigger

On May 4, 2017, the fund's last scheduled distribution day, Dolly showed up in person at the CARE MORE Assistance Center in Pigeon Forge.

Families expecting another $1,000 check instead walked away with $5,000. Thanks to the volume of donations, the Dollywood Foundation was able to boost the final payment fivefold.

"We started the distribution in December right around the longest night of the year, and I know it felt dark and lonely for so many," Parton said. "But here we are in spring, a time for renewal and a time for hope. I know the money helps, but most of all I want people to know we will always provide you a shoulder to lean on."

In total, almost $9 million went directly to wildfire victims through the My People Fund. The Dollywood Foundation went on to commit another $3 million to a local recovery partnership and funded $4,500 scholarships for every Sevier County high school junior and senior whose home had been destroyed.

A Promise She Kept Until the End

The My People Fund sat alongside a lifetime of causes Dolly ran out of the Dollywood Foundation, including the Imagination Library book program she started for children in her home county and the Dollywood theme park she helped build into one of the region's largest employers.

Dolly Parton died on August 25, 2026, at 80. Nearly a decade after the fires, families in Sevier County still remember the woman who showed up within 48 hours and kept showing up until the last check cleared.

Photos: Dolly Parton at the Liseberg Applause Award, 2010, by Curtis Hilbun / Dollywood via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0; Gatlinburg, Tennessee wildfire aftermath, November 2016, by Maj. Randy Harris / The National Guard via Flickr / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Related Tags