Gatlinburg Fire Victims Get Big Surprise From Dolly Parton's My People Fund

GATLINBURG, TN — The nearly 900 families who lost their homes in the vicious Sevier County wildfire are set to receive their last check from Dolly Parton's My People Fund Thursday and the amount is going to come as surprise. Instead of the $1,000 check they received for the first five months of the program started by the iconic Parton after November's fires ravaged her home county, the families will get $5,000.

"We had a surplus with the money we raised and have been talking about doing this for the last couple weeks," Dollywood Foundation president David Dotson said.

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Through a star-studded telethon and repeated appeals, Parton was able to quickly raise more than $9 million for the fund for 875 families who lost their homes during the wind-whipped wildfire that swept through the quaint Great Smokey Mountains hamlet of Gatlinburg and surrounding areas. Parton vowed $1,000 checks for six months for anyone who lost their home — be they renters or owners.

But with such an overwhelming response to the fundraising appeal, the initial $6,000 pledge turned into $10,000 per family.

"I just don't know what we would have done without this Dolly fund," Amanda Green told the Knoxville News Sentinel. "My son is graduating from high school, and I couldn't have done anything."

Dotson said there is actually a surplus even after the $5,000 checks. Plans for that money will be announced Friday.

Image via Flickr user Linda Stanley, used under Creative Commons