Taylor Swift donates $1 million to Tennessee for tornado relief

Taylor Swift has donated $1 million to help Tennessee residents affected by this weekend’s deadly tornadoes. 

On Saturday, tornadoes tore through central Tennessee, killing six people and injuring dozens more. The severe storms caused widespread damage to homes and businesses in multiple cities throughout the state, including Nashville, and left thousands without power. 

The superstar singer-songwriter made the sizable donation to the Tennessee Emergency Response Fund at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, the organization’s CEO Hal Cato confirmed in a statement to CBS News. 

Swift was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, but moved to Hendersonville, a suburb of Nashville, as a teenager to pursue her country music career.

“The Swifts found their original Tennessee home nearly 20 years ago in Hendersonville and Sumner County, one of the areas hardest hit by this tornado,” Cato said. “Taylor’s generosity has put a new spotlight on the devastation as well as the urgent need for help. It has also served as a powerful message to every survivor that she deeply cares about their recovery.”

Donations to the fund help provide short-term help like financial assistance to tornado survivors, as well as food, temporary housing, and debris clean-up, according to the foundation. Any remaining money go towards long-term recovery needs, including counseling, FEMA registration guidance and rebuilding of homes. 

In October, Swift achieved billionaire status, according to Bloomberg. It followed the release of a re-recording of her “1989”  album, as well as the success of the concert movie of her Eras Tour, which is the first tour ever to gross $1 billion, according to Pollstar.