Dolly Parton will bring some Texas-sized star power to AT&T Stadium when she performs at the Thanksgiving Day game which has been a tradition for decades for the Dallas Cowboys.
Charlotte Jones, executive vice president and chief brand officer of the team says that Parton is bringing more than just her talents to town and donating $1M to the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign that kicks off with the game on Thanksgiving Day against the Washington Commanders.
“For 27 years and we finally have Dolly Parton the most iconic performer on the planet. We are so excited to help her launch her Rockstar album. We get to hear some of her old favorites and some of her new ones,” Charlotte Jones said.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
Jerry Jones, owner, president, and general manager of the Cowboys, even made jokes about Parton’s generosity in the announcement.
“If the Cowboys could play anywhere as great as professional as the salvation army is and helping Dallas, because the money that is donated here stays here … if we could do that, we would win a Super Bowl every year,” Jones said.
Dolly in 2023
The country music legend, who released a new album last week, has done everything but hit the pause button this year.
This will be the 27th year for the Cowboys to team up with the Salvation Army for the campaign, which has raised more than $3 billion since the national kickoff began in 1997.
“It’s ideal for us to use the visibility of the NFL. In doing so we will be able to share with them the RKC. The message is simple. Put a dollar in and we want to put that with professionals, people who know the best way to spend that dollar. Not wasting it on meetings and “gunna do’s” but they put that dollar on the table and the shoes right on the people and put the Santa under the Christmas tree. The point is to get involved. Everyone can make a difference in the Red Kettle Campaign.”
Commissioner Kenneth Hodder, national commander of the Salvation Army calls the partnership invaluable.
“The Red Kettle Campaign is a 133-year-old tradition in which Americans have the opportunity to help their neighbors,” Hodder said. “All of the money that is put into the kettles will always stay in the community it has been given which will help meet that community’s needs.”
The Salvation Army is the largest direct service social services organization in the United States, with almost 7,000 centers of operation that served nearly 24 million people last year.