CELEBRITY
Genuine Kindness or Inspired by Travis Kelce? as Taylor Swift donated over $ 700 million to help less privileged girls attend college.
Pop superstar Taylor Swift — who hit a sour note with some fans after attending a recent charity event for Gaza — has been quietly doling out her fortune in the years leading up to achieving billionaire status.
The singer’s largess has ranged from supporting food banks during stops on her record-shattering “Eras Tour — to donating $1 million to Tennessee residents ravaged by the deadly tornadoes last weekend.
The day before the storms, Swift lent her star power to Ramy Youseff’s “More Feelings” comedy show — which donated 100% of its proceeds to humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza — landing her in hot water with Megyn Kelly, who this week called for a boycott over the seemingly anti-Israel move.
After the extreme weather swept through the state, Swift moved to cut the seven-figure check to the Tennessee Emergency Response Fund, an affiliate of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, USA Today initially reported.
There were 83 people injured and six reported dead following the storms, including a twister that hit Hendersonville, where Swift moved with her family to pursue her music career at 13 years old.
Per the fund’s website, gifts made as of Dec. 9 are earmarked for “assisting tornado survivors with their immediate needs,” including “direct financial assistance, food, temporary housing, debris clean-up and animal sheltering.”
Any remaining funding will support “long-term recovery needs such as counseling and mental health services,” the Community Foundation noted.
The foundation’s CEO, Hal Cato, told USA Today: “The Swifts found their original Tennessee home in Hendersonville and Sumner County and remain deeply committed to its continued well-being.”
“Taylor’s incredibly generous gift sends a message to her hometown and the communities around it that she has their backs during the long road to recovery following this devastating event.”
Swift made a similar million-dollar donation to the Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund in 2020 when another bout of fatal windstorms broke ground.
More recently, Swift quietly handed out donations to food banks, including in Glendale, Ariz. in March. The undisclosed donation to the Arizona Food Bank Network allowed for 40,000 pounds of fresh produce to be handed out to members in need.
The gift also helped eligible children in the state gain access to free and reduced-price school meals and senior citizens obtain food stamps, according to CNN Business.