DOLLY'S PRAYERS FOR TENNESSEE (UPDATE)

In a video message released Thursday, just as NBC was airing Dolly Parton’s Christmas of Many Colors special, the Tennessee native announced a new effort by the Dollywood Company and the Dollywood Foundation to establish a fund to assist the victims of the Great Smoky Mountain wildfires. The new My People Fund will provide $1,000 each month to Sevier County families who lost their homes.

“I’ve always believed charity begins at home, and my home is some place special,” Parton says in the video. “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.”

To contribute to the My People Fund, visit dollywoodfoundation.org.

The fires started Monday (11/28) at popular hiking destination Chimney Tops Mountain in East Tennessee quickly spread to Great Smoky Mountains National Park resort towns Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, driven by 87 mph winds. Gatlinburg Fire Chief Greg Miller called it it "a fire for the history books." Soon afterward, Parton released her initial statement.

"I have been watching the terrible fires in the Great Smoky Mountains and I am heartbroken," she said. "I am praying for all the families affected by the fire and the firefighters who are working so hard to keep everyone safe. It is a blessing that my Dollywood theme park, the DreamMore Resort and so many businesses in Pigeon Forge have been spared."