Dolly Parton offers $1,000 per month to help homeless Tennessee fire victims

Saying charity begins at home, country music superstar Dolly Parton is offering to give a “hand up” to families who lost their homes in the Tennessee fires that have killed at least 11 people and burned hundreds of houses in the Great Smokey Mountains.

The My People Fund will give $1,000 per month to Sevier County families “that have lost their homes in the fires until they can get back up on their feet.” On her website, the Dollywood Foundation indicates the payments will last up to six months.

Parton is accepting donations on her website.

The Associated Press reported that more than 14,000 residents and visitors were evacuated from Gatlinburg and that more than 700 buildings have been damaged in the fires that experts said were “likely to be human-caused.”

Dollywood, the theme park named after Parton, did not suffer significant damage and announced it would reopen Friday after being closed Wednesday and Thursday.

Gatlinburg and Dollywood are in mideastern Tennessee, near the North Carolina border.

This story was originally published December 1, 2016 at 9:32 PM with the headline "Dolly Parton offers $1,000 per month to help homeless Tennessee fire victims."