Ahead of current 7-time CMA Award nominee Morgan Wallen’s return to his hometown – with two nights slated at University of Tennessee Knoxville’s Neyland Stadium today (Sept. 20) and Sunday (Sept. 22) – The Morgan Wallen Foundation (MWF) donated $140,000 to Gibbs Youth Sports.
During a press briefing held at Neyland Stadium, MWF Executive Director, Kathleen Flaherty and MWF Program Director and Wallen’s mother, Lesli Wallen, presented a check to Gibbs Youth Sports (GYS) President Nate Stachey and Baseball Commissioner William Lynam to renovate Ruritan Park.
“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,” shared Flaherty. “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,” adds Lesli Wallen. “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.”
Ruritan Park serves students from Gibbs High School, where Wallen attended, and surrounding areas in Knox County. Gibbs Youth Sports (GYS) has had a fieldhouse for several years. Due to lack of funds, it has never been built out to serve youth’s sports needs. Local youth have been unable to practice baseball when the weather isn’t ideal, and have not had a means to practice in all seasons, year-round and to gather as a team when weather is bad. Instead, they have been forced to travel across Knoxville to other facilities, without viable options for indoor practice in the Northeast end of Knox County.
MWF will change that and with this donation, allowing GYS to rebuild the inside of the fieldhouse to offer indoor fielding and batting options for local recreation teams. Renovations include batting cages and machines, as well as pitching lanes and a fielding area. Currently there are no facilities like that in the Gibbs/Corryton area.
“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,” reflects Stachey. “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.”
In a video message addressing attendees, Morgan Wallen shared, “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. 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.”
Ruritan Park generally sees approximately 300 kids in the spring season in recreation baseball and approximately 160 in the fall. This donation will provide access to 400-500 people who utilize the park on any given night, including parents and family, as well as 15 travel ball teams.
Along with this donation, the Morgan Wallen Foundation has donated to many other East Tennessee organizations this year, including Powell High School Band, Second Harvest East Tennessee, New Market Field and Roy Harmon Field in Jefferson City and more.
Morgan Wallen Foundation donates $140k to Gibbs Youth Sports
Photo ID L to R: MWF Program Director and Wallen’s mother, Lesli Wallen; MWF Executive Director, Kathleen Flaherty; Gibbs Youth Sports Baseball Commissioner William Lynam; Gibbs Youth Sports President Nate Stachey | Photo Credit: Noam Galai/Getty Images for Morgan Wallen Foundation
About Morgan Wallen Foundation (MWF):
Access to sports and music transformed and enriched Morgan Wallen’s life in ways he never could have imagined growing up as a kid in East Tennessee. They have been a constant presence since the age of three. Playing sports instilled in him the values and benefits of discipline, hard work and commitment. Exposure to music at a young age has led him to become the country artist he is today.
Morgan Wallen Foundation (MWF) has a core belief that all children deserve a chance to thrive, play, and create through sports and music and supports programs for youth in these two areas – sports and music. MWF is also dedicated to being there for communities in times of need. Whether it’s providing supplies in the wake of natural disasters, meals for first responders, distributing groceries to food insecure families, we are there to help.
For more information go to www.morganwallenfoundation.org.