Ahead of Morgan Wallen‘s highly anticipated return to his hometown with two nights at University of Tennessee Knoxville’s Neyland Stadium on Friday (Sept. 20) and Sunday (Sept. 22), the Morgan Wallen Foundation donated $140,000 to the Gibbs Youth Sports program to renovate Gibbs Ruritan Park.
Morgan Wallen Foundation Presents Gibbs Sports Youth With $140,000 Donation
On Thursday afternoon (Sept. 19), to kick off Wallen’s homecoming weekend, Kathleen Flaherty, the Executive Director of the Morgan Wallen Foundation and Lesli Wallen, the Morgan Wallen Foundation Program Director and mother of the country superstar, presented a check to Gibbs Youth Sports President Nate Stachey and Baseball Commissioner William Lynam to support the Gibbs Ruritan Park’s renovation efforts.
“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,” Flaherty told Music Mayhem and other media outlets during a press briefing. “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,” Lesli Wallen added. “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.”
Donation Will Revitalize Gibbs Ruritan Park
While Gibbs Youth Sports has had a field house for several years, it has remained incomplete due to a lack of funding, limiting its ability to meet the needs of the young athletes in Knox County.
The life-changing donation will allow Gibbs Ruritan Park to overhaul the fields, remodel the field house, update the drainage systems and level the field, install a lighting timer, as well as give the concession stand a total makeover. The upgrade will also include an overhaul of the park’s scoreboard, dugouts, seating, and more. And it doesn’t stop there. Previously, local Knox County kids couldn’t practice baseball year-round, but thanks to the Morgan Wallen Foundation’s generous donation, the park will soon feature indoor facilities, including batting cages, pitching lanes, and a fielding area, allowing athletes to train year-round, regardless of the weather.
Gibbs Youth Sports President Says, “I’m So Thankful”
After Kathleen Flaherty and Lesli Wallen presented the Gibbs Youth Sports representatives with the $140,000 check, Stachy graciously thanked the Morgan Wallen Foundation for their generosity.
“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,” Stachey said, reflecting on the life-altering donation that will help thousands of athletes in Knox County.
He continued, “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.”
Ruritan Park, located at 7827 Tazewell Pike, serves students from Gibbs High School, Wallen’s alma mater, and the surrounding Knox County communities.
Morgan Wallen Makes A Statement Via Video Message
At the end of the press briefing, a special video message from Morgan Wallen was shown to the media in attendance.
“This is a special weekend for me, getting to come back home and play Neyland. I just wanted to say thank you to everybody in Knoxville for the support over the years and to celebrate that, I wanted to give a donation with my foundation to the Gibbs Youth Sports,” he said in the clip. “We’re gonna do a renovation of Ruritan Park. We’re gonna be doing a lot of work there, but the overall gist of it is they’re gonna make the park usable all year round for the kids there. Really awesome stuff. Me and my foundation, we’ve been giving back to communities all over the country, and the world, really, for the last couple of years, but there is none more important than this one, and I hope this opportunity helps create the ability for more kids to play sports in my hometown for years to come.”
Donated Over $500,000 To East Tennessee Organizations
This isn’t the only time that the Morgan Wallen Foundation has given back to East Tennessee. In fact, the Morgan Wallen Foundation has donated over $500,000 to many other East Tennessee organizations, including Powell High School Band, Second Harvest East Tennessee, New Market Field and Roy Harmon Field in Jefferson City and more.
How Morgan Wallen And His Fans Fund The Morgan Wallen Foundation
Additionally, Morgan Wallen donates $3 from every ticket sold in the U.S. from his One Night At A Time World Tour to benefit the Morgan Wallen Foundation, which helps fund causes close to the “Lies Lies Lies” singer’s heart. To date, the Morgan Wallen Foundation has given over
“The foundation is really funded by Morgan Wallen, the man… This foundation is the heart and soul of Morgan Wallen and for him giving back to the kids and providing that access to sports, music and communities in need is really, really important and critical. Giving how much he’s been blessed with to give back,” Flaherty continued.
For more information on The Morgan Wallen Foundation, visit the organization’s official website, visit MorganWallenFoundation.org.
