NASHVILLE (CelebrityAccess) – One month out from Hope in the Hills’ sixth annual Healing Appalachia festival, the nonprofit announces a landmark partnership with The Matthew Perry Foundation (MPF), marking a significant new chapter in the fight against the opioid crisis.
As the official sponsor of Healing Appalachia’s Camp Grindstone, The Matthew Perry Foundation will provide housing and amenities for more than 400 volunteers camping on-site, alongside 500 additional day volunteers drawn from recovery facilities across Appalachia. Over the course of the weekend, volunteers serve in every role, security, hospitality, green team, and stage crew, demonstrating recovery in action while sharing their own stories of hope and healing.
“We believe magic blossoms when we are all welcomed at the table together to foster recovery as a community,” said Dave Lavender, board president of Hope in the Hills. “As Matthew Perry said, ‘Addiction is too powerful for anyone to defeat alone. But together, and one day at a time, we can beat it down. Which is why at Healing Appalachia, we will come together and one day at a time work to be our best selves and help our brothers and sisters beat down addiction and celebrate recovery.”’
This partnership extends beyond the festival. Together, MPF and Hope in the Hills are launching philanthropic initiatives that will expand the reach of grassroots recovery programs nationwide. These include becoming National Expansion Partners for SOAR WV’s Save A Life Day (Sept. 25)—a coast-to-coast event that last year hosted more than 650 gatherings in 35 states and distributed over 84,000 doses of naloxone. The collaboration will also support a stagehands workforce training pilot program and other regional grants, strengthening recovery and reentry pathways across Appalachia.
“The Matthew Perry Foundation exists to ensure that no one is denied care or healing because of stigma,” said Doug Chapin, Board President of MPF and Lisa Kasteler-Calio, Executive Director of MPF. “By supporting grassroots organizations like Healing Appalachia, we are standing with the recovery community, lifting up the work being done every day, and helping create a future where compassion leads the way.”
Much more than a music festival, Healing Appalachia brings together more than 20,000 people each year to celebrate recovery, raise awareness, and connect music lovers with life-saving resources. Built and powered by volunteers, local businesses, and community organizations, the festival has already generated more than $5 million in regional economic impact and reinvested over $1 million into grassroots nonprofits—funding programs ranging from yoga in women’s prisons and mentorship for foster youth, to outdoor camps for trauma-impacted children, music therapy, harm reduction, and innovative recovery-to-work initiatives.
This year’s festival will be held Sept. 19–20 in Ashland, KY, with headliners Tyler Childers and Chris Stapleton. Additional performances include Molly Tuttle, Remi Wolf, Lukas Nelson, Blackberry Smoke, American Aquarium, The Infamous Stringdusters, Cole Chaney, Jesse Welles, Jonas Conner, Hill Country Devil, Corduroy Brown and The Montvales, Brad Goodall, Conrad Moore, Andy Frasco, Jeremy Short, and more.
