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Dollar General is partnering with The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to donate $200,000 in Dollar General gift cards to assist families rebuilding after the devastating wildfires near the Great Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee.
The gift cards are being donated to country music legend Dolly Parton’s My People Fund established by the Dollywood Foundation to help families directly impacted by the wildfires. Dollar General has also made a $25,000 cash donation to the My People Fund and in partnership with its toy suppliers, (Mattel, Fisher Price, Crayola, MVP, Bendon, Amloid H E R, Just Play, Lovee Doll) is donating more than $75,000 worth of toys to bring a bit of holiday joy to impacted families. In all, the gift from Dollar General and the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee totals more than $300,000 to support families recovering from the fires.
“Consistent with our mission of Serving Others we want to do our part to help our neighbors in our home state of Tennessee in the wake of these tragic wildfires,” said Dollar General’s CEO, Todd Vasos. “We are grateful for the partnership with The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Together, we are supporting the work of the Dollywood Foundation in helping families recover. Our stores are ready to help families use these gift cards to re-stock on the everyday essentials they need. We are also grateful to our vendors for joining us in donating a truckload of toys to help make the holidays brighter for families during this difficult time.”
“The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee has responded to disaster recovery since 1993, and we know just how different each one is and how difficult the corresponding recoveries are,“ said The Community Foundation’s president, Ellen Lehman. “We are enormously grateful that Dollar General agreed to match the $100,000 we had raised for this purpose. We are also grateful to our partners in the media, The Tennessean and Gannett, NewsChannel 5 (WTVF), Channel 4 (WSMV), Fox 17 (WZTV) and Channel 2 (WKRN) which played a pivotal role in the thousands of gifts that have come into The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee for the Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville Emergency Response Fund.
The Dollar General gift cards along with assistance checks will be distributed to families by the Dollywood Foundation beginning Thursday, December 15 at the CARE MORE Assistance Center located at LeConte Center (2986 Teaster Lane, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863 more information: https://dollywoodfoundation.org/get-help/). The toy distribution will begin on Friday, December 16 and continue thru Tuesday, December 20 at the CARE MORE Assistance Center.
The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee will continue to facilitate donations as the recovery unfolds. It is a long journey and the needs and opportunities will emerge and evolve.