Event raised more than $300k in donations
CMT, WSMV-TV and The American Red Cross raised a lot of money for tornado victims during the Rebuilding Tennessee Telethon that aired Thursday (March 5th) across CMT’s social media platforms. The event raised $373k in donations.
Country stars, such as Lady Antebellum’s Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley, Cassadee Pope and Nashville’s Sam Palladio were among the celebrities who answered phones from people wanting to donate around the country.
Several stars even contributed large donations. Kid Rock donated $50k and Big Machine CEO Scott Borchetta pitched in $100k. CoreCivic also pledged $25k with WSMV-TV pitching in $10k.
Before the telecast, Taylor Swift donated $1 million to the Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund. The country-turned-pop-star considers Nashville her home after relocating from her native Pennsylvania to kick start her career. The singer still owns a mansion in nearby Hendersonville.
“Nashville is my home,” Swift shares. “And the fact that so many people have lost their homes and so much more in Middle Tennessee is devastating to me.”
Swift has donated to several state contributions over the years, including $500,000 towards relief efforts following the 2010 Nashville flood.
Nashville-based Gibson guitars is working to make guitarists affected by storms whole again, providing immediate help by giving a guitar to any musician whose instrument was damaged or destroyed through its charitable organization, Gibson Gives.
Two dozen people were killed and about 150 sent to hospitals in Middle Tennessee after two EF-2 twisters tore through five counties around 1 am CT on Tuesday (Mar 3rd). With wind speeds up to 175 mph, dozens of homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed including the popular The Basement East venue and Dualtone Records, both in East Nashville, one of the hardest hit areas.