KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A country music performer stopped by West Town Mall on Wednesday as part of an effort to help collect donations and aid communities recovering from the impact of Hurricane Helene.
Morgan Wallen appeared alongside his charity during a food drive near Dick's House of Sport Wednesday. There, he spoke with fans and encouraged them to donate to the foundation and to Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee.
"I got a team, most of them are here today," Wallen said during the food drive. "I hollered at them and was just like, 'We need to do something to help.' So they put this all together."
The food drive was set to go from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday and the Morgan Wallen Foundation encouraged people to bring bottled water and non-perishable food. It asked for any canned items to have pop-taps, instead of requiring a can opener.
The foundation is also holding a virtual food drive through Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee, which people can donate to by heading to this link. People can also buy a "HELP" t-shirt, with proceeds benefiting Second Harvest and MANNA FoodBank in Western North Carolina.
Wallen also recently donated $500,000 to the American Red Cross to help flood victims in East Tennessee, according to Trevor Riggen, the president of humanitarian services at the American Red Cross.
Second Harvest said it jumped at the chance to partner with Wallen and help people recovering from the storm.
"Getting that phone call from the Morgan Wallen Foundation was an absolute thrill. We've been happy to work with them for well over a year. We worked with them during the fall and the winter of last year, during the holidays, and when tragedy struck over here close by to our neighbors in East Tennessee, they called and said, 'Let's do a thing,' so that's what we've been doing," said Michael Torano, from Second Harvest.