Taylor Swift is extending her generosity to a place close to her heart. Following the devastating tornados that swept through multiple Tennessee counties Saturday, Swift made a $1 million donation to the Tennessee Emergency Response Fund at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
Hal Cato, CEO of the community foundation, confirmed Swift’s contribution. The organization operates a fund that supports nonprofits providing vital services in all phases of a disaster: immediate relief, short-term recovery, and long-term recovery. Those interested in donating can visit www.cfmt.org.
Though she’s often seen socializing on the East Coast, the megastar just named Time magazine’s Person of the Year retains ties to Nashville, where she still lives and has her office.
As a teenager, Swift attended Hendersonville High School in Sumner County, one of several including Davidson and Montgomery that were ravaged by storms that killed at least six people, injured dozens and destroyed homes and buildings.
According to the National Weather Service in Nashville, the tornado that devastated Clarksville in Montgomery County traversed an 11-mile path with peak winds of 150 mph.
Cato said Swift’s donation will “support the immediate and long-term recovey needs” in Sumner County and the areas around it most affected by the tornados.
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Swift’s donation is hardly the first time the newly minted billionaire has quietly engaged in philanthropy.
Throughout her Eras Tour this year, Swift made sizable contributions to food banks in every U.S. city she played.
A spokesperson for the Arizona Food Bank Network told CNN that Swift’s donation allowed the organization to send tractor-trailers with 40,000 pounds of fresh produce to its member food banks while also augmenting funding for programs that combat hunger.
Second Harvest of Silicon Valley Food Bank disclosed that during her tour stop in Santa Clara, California, Swift donated enough “to nourish an average of about 500,000 people every month in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.”
Swift’s bigheartedness extended in-house as well. As the Eras Tour wrapped its first leg in August, the singer bestowed $55 million in bonuses to her tour family, including dancers, truck drivers, sound crew and catering staff.
