Dolly Parton's My People Fund served nearly 900 Sevier County families in its first distribution period.
About two weeks after the deadly November wildfires, the Dollywood Foundation held its first distribution over the course of four days.
A total of 884 families received their initial support payments during the distribution.
“It’s a blessing during this holiday season that we are able to help as many families as we have so far,” Parton said. “We know there are more families out there who need our help and we encourage them to be in contact with us before our January distribution.”
Parton pledged that the My People Fund would provide $1,000 each month to Sevier County families whose homes were uninhabitable or were completely destroyed in the recent Smoky Mountain wildfires.
Any family who lost their primary residence (renters and homeowners) due to the wildfires in Sevier County are eligible. A pre-application for those affected is available at dollywoodfoundation.org.
The next distribution was set for Jan. 26 and 27, 2017 at the LeConte Events Center in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
