Taylor Swift donated $5M to provide additional food and resources for those affected by Hurricane Helene and Milton in Florida, USA

Taylor Swift donated $5 million to provide additional food and resources to help people in the hurricane-hit Helene and Milton areas of Florida, USA.

According to People, Taylor Swift donated through the charity Feeding America – a network of more than 200 food banks, which aims to provide meals and necessary resources to localities in need. On October 9, Ms. Claire Babineaux-Fontenot – the organization’s executive director – posted an Instagram message of gratitude to the singer.

She said the $5 million donation will be used to help communities rebuild and recover, and provide essential food, clean water, and necessities to people affected by the storms.

In the end, Ms. Babineaux-Fontenot thanked Taylor Swift for “standing side by side with the organization in the movement to end hunger, supporting communities in need”. The agency representative encouraged everyone to “join the singer in donating, if possible.”

 

Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida on October 10 as a Category 3 storm, bringing heavy rain, tornadoes and storm surges. The National Hurricane Center said the storm posed “life-threatening” hazards to the coastal area stretching from central to southern Florida, focusing on Tampa Bay. They expected it to be the costliest natural in the state’s history.

According to CNN, Hurricane Helene hit Florida two weeks ago as a Category 4, leaving a more than 500 miles long in six states, causing flooding that killed more than 230 people. Helene is the second deadliest inland hurricane in the past 50 years in the US, behind Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

In addition to Taylor Swift, country singer Dolly Parton has been actively donating to areas. CNN reported on October 8 that her group of companies, including Dollywood Parks & Resorts, The Dollywood Foundation, Dolly Parton’s Stampede and Pirates Voyage, will partner with Walmart to support people affected by storms and floods in the Appalachian region. She also pledged to donate $1 million of her own money to the Mountain Ways Foundation relief organization for victims of Hurricane Helene.

Taylor Swift, 35, is an American singer and songwriter who rose to with her country music in 2006. After 11 albums, Swift has received 14 Grammy Awards and 29 Billboard Awards, 30 VMAs trophies. In 2023, she was chosen by Time as “Person of the Year”. She is dating football player Travis Kelce, 35. Forbes announced on October 7 that Taylor Swift is the richest female singer in the world with a fortune of $1.6 billion.

This is not the first time an artist has donated money to relief. In December 2023, the Fortnight singer donated $1 million to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee’s Response Fund after the area was hit by multiple tornadoes. At the time, authorities reported six deaths, including two children. In June, the singer donated more than 10,000 meals to food banks in the UK during her Eras Tour in the country.