Maren Morris Tour
Maren Morris arrives at the 53rd annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Maren Morris Donates $70K to East Nashville High School and $10K to Nashville Bar

Maren Morris has stepped up to help out the East Nashville community. The country star has donated $70,000 to the band program at East Nashville Magnet High School.

"Education and access to funding for public school music and theater departments has always had a special place in my heart," Morris told The Tennessean.

Morris told the paper that she witnessed the realities of arts funding at her own high school, where students in her high school choir wore "decade-old hand me down uniforms and sightread from torn books."

 

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The Grammy-winning artist spent a portion of her teenage years attending Grammy Camp, a retreat for aspiring music industry professionals.

"Now that I am where I am, it gives me so much joy to give back money to the spark that enflamed my interest as a creative human being," Morris said. "With so much uncertainty for public schools this year during COVID, I wanted East Nashville Magnet to have one less worry for their fine arts department."

Morris also donated funds to another Nashville establishment this week. The singer-songwriter pledged $10K to The Fox, an East Nashville bar, at a time when small, local bars are struggling amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"Broadway bars taking advantage of these loopholes right now are cannibalizing our Nashville small businesses who have been following the health orders since day 1," Morris wrote via Twitter. "Going to donate to my friends at The Fox because this is absolutely heartbreaking."

Morris released her sophomore album GIRL in 2019. She gave birth to her first child, a baby boy named Hayes, earlier this year.

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