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Another country superstar is stepping up to help a Tennessee community still recovering from catastrophic floods that swept through the mid-state earlier this year.
During an assembly at Waverly Central High School on Monday (November 8), Vince Gill spoke about the importance of music in schools and presented $100,000 worth of music instruments to both the high school and Waverly Junior High School to replace instruments that were lost to the floodwaters. According to WKRN, the instruments were donated by KHS Music and presented by Gill and Alex Hall on behalf of the CMA Foundation.
Gill is the latest star to support the Waverly community after it was devastated by floodwaters that swept through the region on August 21 and left 20 people dead. Chris Stapleton and his wife, Morgane, made a generous donation to the family of a pair of 7-month-old twins who perished in the flood after being swept from their father's arms.
Tennessee native Dolly Parton also raised more than $700,000 at her various Smoky Mountain businesses for those impacted by the flood. She was inspired by her friend and fellow Tennessee resident Loretta Lynn, who raised money after the devastating wildfires in Gatlinburg. Lynn's ranch was also hit by the flood, which claimed the life of her longtime friend and foreman Wayne Spears.
"I hope that this money can be put to good use to help the people of Middle Tennessee with what they need during their recovery," she said. "Loretta and her people helped us out so much following the wildfires in 2016 that I just knew we had to do something to help them. They have our prayers and our thoughts as they go through this time."