Photo courtesy of Facebook.com/santatrain
Whether they were volunteering, fundraising or otherwise supporting charitable causes, country stars were generous in 2014. As a reminder that this is the season of giving, here are a few stories Great American Country featured this year.
Scotty McCreery recently raised $60,000 at a benefit concert for the 12.14 Foundation, which was established in memory of lives lost in the 2012 Newton, Conn., school shooting.
Over Thanksgiving, Miranda Lambert and her MuttNation Foundation opened a no-kill animal shelter called Redemption Ranch.
Keith Urban filmed a PSA for November’s Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month in support of the Nikki Mitchell Foundation.
As part of his involvement in and support of the USO’s Every Moment Counts campaign, Hunter Hayes played a free concert in downtown Nashville at the 2014 CMA Festival.
Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley and his brothers donated money from a celebrity golf tournament and concert in Augusta, Ga., to the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation, the John W. Kelley, M.D., Cardiovascular Endowment, the LadyAID Fund and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Jason Aldean donated a portion of ticket sales from his annual Concert for the Cure to the Susan G. Komen foundation, with this year’s concert in Detroit raising $660,909.
Amy Grant served as the celebrity guest on this year’s Santa Train, which has been traveling through the Appalachian region to distribute gifts to children and their families for the past 72 years.
Opened in her native Ontario, Canada, Shania Twain’s Kids Can Clubhouse enrichment program provides $100,000 a year for four years to the Sir Winston Churchill Public School.
Florida Georgia Line’s Dirt Campaign raised money for Habitat for Humanity to build homes for underprivileged families.
The Chief Cares charity established by Eric Church and his wife aims to make a global impact, recently helping to get beds, clothing and schooling for a Nepalese orphanage, aid to Haiti and funding for Humane Society’s no-kill shelters.
In August, Charlie Daniels was named chairman of the board for the Journey Home Project, an organization connecting donors with nonprofits that provide veterans with necessary assistance and benefits.
Craig Morgan hosted his annual charity event to benefit the Dickson County Craig Morgan Foundation, whose goal is to raise enough money to build Billy’s Place, a home for displaced foster children waiting for a permanent arrangement.
Country newcomer Allison Veltz created a lyric video inspired by an adopted dog, Penny. For each view the video received, Veltz and her Pennies for Penny campaign donated a penny to the Nashville Humane Association.
Josh Turner served as the headliner at an annual fundraising concert to help raise money for the Hiatt Adolescent and Young Adult Treatment Fund at Cumberland Heights in Nashville, Tenn.
Dierks Bentley’s annual Miles and Music for Kids event, featuring a celebrity motorcycle ride and concert, raised money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals across the country.
