Music star Dolly Parton has announced she will make a personal donation of $1m (£762,000) to disaster relief efforts after Hurricane Helene.
Speaking at an event in his hometown of Tennessee on Friday, the 78-year-old said the money would come from “my bank account”.
Businesses in Parton’s area – including the Dollywood theme park – can also donate the same amount to the Mountain Ways Foundation, which helps those affected by flooding in the region.
During her remarks, Parton broke into song, singing “Helene, Helene” from her 1973 hit Jolene.
At least 225 people have died as a result of Helene, which tore through the southeastern US in late September.
Helen the deadliest hurricane in the country since Katrina in 2005.
Attacking as a category four hurricane, Helene destroyed buildings, caused flooding and knocked out power to millions of homes. More than half a million buildings have been without power since Saturday.
The US government has said the cleanup effort could take years.
While most of the deaths occurred in North Carolina, others were recorded in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
“This is my home,” Parton said at Friday’s news conference, which was held outside a Walmart store in Newport, Tennessee.
“God has been good to me and so has the community, and I feel that if there is anything I can do to give back in any way I’m always willing to do that. I want to feel like I’m doing what I’m doing. Part.”
Explaining that many of his relatives live in this area, the singer said: “I was sad like everyone else, I was just surprised and that made me sad.
He added: “All these people feel like my people.”
So far 11 people have been confirmed dead in Tennessee as a result of the storm, according to the report latest official figuresand others whose whereabouts are still unknown.
At least two factory workers left with the flood in Erwin, northeast of the county.
EPAParton, when asked what her message was to victims, replied: “I know it’s easy for us to say, ‘oh, things will get better’ when things are still really bad.”
“All we can say is we’re with you, we love you, we hope things get better soon – and we’ll do our part to try to make that happen.”
Alongside the news conference, Walmart announced it was increasing funding for the recovery effort to $10m (£7.6m).
The supermarket’s chief executive, John Furner, said: “These are not just places where we have shops. These are the communities where we work and live.”
He also described Parton as “a true American legend – not just music, art, business, but because of her heart”.
The country music singer and songwriter has previously made large donations in response to life-changing events.
In 2016, his love he pledged to donate $1,000 a month to families affected by wildfires in Tennessee.
And in 2020, he donated $1m to the development of one of the Covid-19 vaccines.
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