KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (CelebrityAccess) – Ahead of his upcoming two-night stand at the University of Tennessee Knoxville’s Neyland Stadium, Morgan Wallen’s Foundation (The MWF) announced a donation of $140,000 to Gibbs Youth Sports.
During a press briefing held at Neyland Stadium, MWF Executive Director, Kathleen Flaherty and MWF Program Director and Wallen’s mother, Lesli Wallen, presented a check representing the donation to Gibbs Youth Sports (GYS) President Nate Stachey and Baseball Commissioner William Lynam with the money intended to support a renovation of Ruritan Park.
“We’re here today on behalf of The Morgan Wallen Foundation which was founded two years ago and sprang out of the heart and soul of Morgan Wallen,” shared Flaherty. “Morgan is a person who’s well aware how blessed he’s been in this life and he wants to give back. Our mission is to provide access to youth in the areas of sports and music as well as giving back to communities in need. Sports and music helped define his life and instilled in him the value of hard work.”
“Being a baseball mom, this is very special to me that my son is able to give back to the community that blessed us so much and that he played sports in,” adds Lesli Wallen. “Nate sent in an application to our foundation asking for any help – that’s all he asked for. I walk up there sometimes at the Gibbs Youth Sports Ruritan Park and I see how in disrepair the park is. So, we started conversations asking what we can do to make this park a better park – and a special place – for our kids to be proud to go to.”
The park provides a recreation and sports facilities for students at Gibbs High School, where Wallen attended, and surrounding areas in Knox County.
The planned renovations for the park include the rebuild of the interior of a fieldhouse to include indoor fielding and batting options for local recreation teams. Renovations include batting cages and machines, as well as pitching lanes and a fielding area.
“This is an amazing day for the Gibbs community, the children and all of Knox County in East Tennessee. What the Morgan Wallen Foundation is doing for us, I can’t begin to tell you what it means to Gibbs Youth Sports,” reflects Stachey. “Our conversations were always so deep in what they could do to benefit our organization and how Morgan might be able to help us. It started with the little things and it turned into a big list, and we kept praying and asking because without what we’ve talked about, we’d be 15 years behind on getting these repairs done by ourselves. So, I can’t thank them enough. I can’t thank Mr. Wallen enough for what he’s doing, remembering who he is and what it was like to play youth baseball. With his help, we’re going to become one of the premier ballparks in Knox County. I’m so thankful.”
