Morgan Wallen, Habitat for Humanity, MLB-MLBPA YDF, Nashville Sounds partner for community project
Alongside recently being certified by the Recording Industry Association of America as the most successful digital streaming artist in country music history, Morgan Wallen -- via his eponymously named foundation -- continues to partner with north Nashville-based civic associations to preserve the historical integrity of blighted Music City communities.
His latest charitable act is pairing with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville and the Nashville Sounds, Major League Baseball and its Players Association's Youth Development Foundation (YDF), AirBnB and other local funders to revitalize north Nashville's Parkwood Community Club.
The organizations have donated $500k each, totaling $1 million invested in the project.
"I started the Morgan Wallen Foundation to support youth in two areas - sports and music. When I heard about Parkwood in Nashville, I knew I wanted to help. Every child deserves a chance to play ball and be part of a team, and I truly appreciate this opportunity to be part of Parkwood's next inning," said Wallen in a press statement. "I can't wait to come back out here and see the park once it has been renovated."
"The Nashville Sounds utilize the power of baseball to impact our community positively," said the Sounds' General Manager, Adam English. "I hope renovating these fields will yield a new generation of great ball players in Nashville."
The six-decade-old complex has long been a pillar of north Nashville's African-American community, similar to Jefferson Street's Elks Lodge #1102 -- also known as the legendary "Club Baron" music venue.
In 2021, the Club Baron was included on Historic Nashville's "Nashville Nine" list as the building -- due to neglect and "inappropriate renovations" -- was risking demolition.
Notably, Wallen -- via his previously-mentioned foundation -- as well as names including AJ Capital Partners, Eric Church (via the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and the Chief Cares Fund), BMI, concert promoter Victor Chatman Productions, Curb Records, Vector Management's Ken Levitan and his wife, Gloria Dumas, via the American Endowment Foundation, Live Nation, the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, plus BMI executive creative director Shannon Sanders are also donors to the Club Baron revitalization project.
A press release adds that efforts to renovate the Parkwood ballfields are part of a larger initiative by Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville to rebuild north Nashville's Parkwood-Haynes-Trinity neighborhood via a broader $2 million-dollar fundraising goal to complete renovations of the complex, including two of the four baseball and softball fields.
Greater Nashville's Habitat for Humanity's larger aims include establishing a proposed 59-acre Metro Park that adjoins the Parkwood Community Club ballfields and building 26 new affordable Habitat homes in District 2.
"Our mission is to build homes, communities and hope by partnering with the Parkwood Board and all our funders who understand this is an important community investment; we will not only save a vital community landmark but also add quality-of-life resources to an underserved community," stated Sherry Stinson, Parkwood and Collaboration Project Lead and SVP of Brand Engagement for Habitat of Greater Nashville.
Currently, Wallen has returned to the road completing the North American leg of his One Night At A Time global tour.
Also, his single "Last Night" is nearing eclipsing the record of 19 weeks on top of Billboard's Hot 100 charts established in 2019 by Lil Nas X.
For more information about the Parkwood Ballfields project, visit https://ww.parkwoodballfields.org.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Morgan Wallen, Habitat for Humanity, MLB-MLBPA YDF, Nashville Sounds partner for community project
