Hank Williams, Jr., Cyndi Lauper, Alabama, Ronnie Dunn, Jamey Johnson, Don McLean and Lauren Alaina set to perform
PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. – The impressive lineup of performers continues to grow for Smoky Mountains Rise: A Benefit for the My People Fund to air at 8 p.m. ET Dec. 13. Hank Williams Jr., Cyndi Lauper, Alabama, Don McLean, Ronnie Dunn, Jamey Johnson and Lauren Alaina have been added to the star-studded telecast, which will be broadcast on GAC, AXS-TV, RFD and The Heartland Network.
A number of celebrities will answer phones during the telethon. Paula Deen and her sons Bobby and Jamie, RaeLynn, Dailey & Vincent, Moonshiners’ Mark & Digger, T.G. Sheppard, Jason Crabb, Larry Gatlin, comedian Henry Cho, Tim Rushlow and more will help man the phone lines during the telethon.
All of the celebrities are donating their time and performances to help the effort.
“Every day I’m touched even more by the number of people who are joining us to help raise money for the people of the Smoky Mountains,” Dolly Parton said. “It is a special place and I’m honored that these people care so much about what we’re doing through the My People Fund to help those who have lost everything due to the wildfires.”
The nationally-broadcast telethon seeks to raise money for the Dollywood Foundation’s My People Fund, established by Parton, The Dollywood Company and Parton’s dinner theaters in the wake of the recent wildfires in the entertainment icon’s home area of Sevier County, Tennessee.
Smoky Mountains Rise also will be simulcast across multiple radio chains including iHeart Media's digital and select on-air platforms, Cumulus Media's NASH Nights LIVE, TuneIn's Country Roads channel, and several other platforms which are set to be announced shortly. USAToday.com and USA Today National Networks will live stream the telethon, as will affiliate newspaper websites: Tennessean.com, Knoxnews.com, commercialappeal.com, jacksonsun.com, theleafchronicle.com, dnj.com, and others.
The My People Fund will provide $1,000 each month to Sevier County families whose homes are 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 will be eligible. A pre-application for those affected is available at dollywoodfoundation.org.
During the telethon, viewers will be asked to call 1-866-CARE MORE to donate to the My People Fund.
Anyone who would like to make a tax-deductible contribution to the My People Fund may visit dollywoodfoundation.org. For those wishing to send donations via mail, those contributions should be sent to: My People Fund, c/o Dollywood Foundation, 111 Dollywood Lane, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863.
Please help the Dollywood Foundation share the word about this effort by using the hashtags #MyPeopleFund and #someplacespecial.
Stations needing broadcast coordinates for the telethon should contact Jeremy Westby by email (jeremy@websterpr.com) or by phone 615-496-4954.
About Smoky Mountains Rise:
Smoky Mountains Rise is a three-hour telethon broadcast on Tuesday, Dec. 13 to raise money for the Dollywood Foundation’s My People Fund to benefit those affected by the Sevier County, Tennessee wildfires. Smoky Mountains Rise is executive produced by Dolly Parton, Danny Nozell, Kirt Webster, Pete Owens and Scott Durand. It is produced by Edie Hoback, Jeremy Westby, Shanna Strassberg, Nic Dugger and Shantel Klinger.
About The Dollywood Company:
A highly-awarded and widely-recognized leader in the amusement industry, The Dollywood Company consists of the 150-acre Dollywood theme park; the 35-acre Dollywood’s Splash Country; Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort; and Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Cabins. As unique as its namesake and owner Dolly Parton, Dollywood is the 2010 Applause Award winner, the theme park industry’s highest accolade; winner of nearly 30 Golden Ticket Awards; and recipient of 25 Brass Ring Awards for Live Entertainment (more than any other theme park in the world). In 2014, Dollywood was named a top three US theme park by USA Today and TripAdvisor recognized Dollywood as a top 20 worldwide theme park in 2015. Dollywood is open nine months a year (late March through early January) and offers rides and attractions, shows, and a dozen crafters authentic to the East Tennessee region. Dollywood’s Splash Country, recognized by the Travel Channel as one of the country’s most beautiful waterparks and named 2009’s Must-See Waterpark by the International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions, operates from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The 300-room Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort provides guests spectacular mountain views and family-friendly amenities next door to Dollywood theme park and Dollywood’s Splash Country. Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Cabins offers luxurious cabin accommodations overlooking Dollywood. For more information, call 1-800-DOLLYWOOD or visit dollywood.com. Operating days and hours vary.
For more information on Dolly Parton, visit www.dollyparton.com.
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Tennessee is the birthplace of the blues, bluegrass, country, gospel, soul, rockabilly, and rock ‘n’ roll— delivering an unparalleled experience of beauty, history, and family adventure, infused with music, that creates a vacation that is the “Soundtrack of America. Made in Tennessee.” Tennessee’s tourism industry generates $18.4 billion in economic impact, more than $1.6 billion in state and local sales tax revenue and more than 157,400 tourism-related jobs.
