CHIEF CARES FOUNDATION CONTINUES RECORD YEAR
with “Living and Giving Award”
Church alongside wife and co-founder of Chief Cares, Katherine Church,
surprised crowd with $1M donation presentation from Chief Cares to JDRF;
event reaches record $2.1M
N.C. – Since Hurricane Matthew devastated regions in Haiti, Eric and
Katherine Church’s foundation Chief Cares (aptly named after the
singer/songwriter’s third career album Chief and largely funded
through concert ticket proceeds) has been helping six townships in the
region with more than 500 families aided thanks to the non-profit’s
efforts. However, the impact of the less-than-three-year-old
foundation’s mission was also felt domestically last night as its
outreach focused on the seven-time GRAMMY nominee’s home state of North
Carolina with an organizational record $1 million donation to a cause
that has personally impacted the Church family—type 1 diabetes. The
JDRF’s Hope Gala held in Charlotte, N.C. was honoring Eric’s parents,
Ken and Rita Church, with the “Living and Giving Award” for their
dedication when Eric and Katherine Church surprised the 1,000+
audience.
foundation work and giving to others in need is my absolute favorite
thing that we get to do,” said Katherine Church. “We are blessed to be a
blessing! What a special opportunity it is for us to give through
Chief Cares and present this gift tonight to JDRF in honor of Rita to
eliminate this disease!”
can’t think of a more fitting occasion to make Chief Cares’ largest
donation than in honor of my mother and her battle with type 1
diabetes,” said Eric Church.
is thrilled and grateful to Eric and Katherine Church for their
generous gift to further type 1 diabetes research,” said Laura Maciag,
Executive Director, JDRF Greater Western Carolinas Chapter. “We have
made incredible progress to treat, prevent and cure this disease and are
at such an exciting stage in our journey. The commitment and dedication
of the Church family is extremely appreciated as we move forward in our
vision to create a world without type 1 diabetes.”
The
Chief Cares Fund was organized by Eric and Katherine Church in 2013 and
is administered by the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. The
CFMT is a registered 501c3 non-profit that serves over 2.5 million
people with charitable giving, helping Chief Cares make a difference in
ways that matter. Eric and Katherine have been able to use Chief Cares
to impact lives not only in the United States, but also around the
globe. Thus far, donations have been used to aid underprivileged
families and children throughout Tennessee and Eric’s home state of
North Carolina, as well as to help an orphanage in Nepal get beds,
clothing and offer schooling to children that would otherwise never get
the chance; deliver bibles and aid to Haiti, and help fund the Humane
Society’s no-kill animal shelters with funds that go towards operational
costs.
initiatives are just the beginning. Help Chief Cares grow towards
serving people in need in communities throughout the United States and
worldwide.
The two-time Country Music Association and four-time Academy of Country
Music Award winner cemented his reputation as a maverick by releasing
his 2015 album Mr. Misunderstood as a surprise, delivering it
to fans before announcing its existence and putting it on sale. He
recently notched his fifth No. 1 with “Record Year,” the second single,
which Rolling Stone dubbed “the most moving moment” on the
widely-lauded album, and recently premiered his new single, “Kill A
Word” featuring Rhiannon Giddens on The Tonight Show.
The North Carolina native’s previous album, The Outsiders debuted at No. 1 on both the Billboard Top
200 Albums Chart and Top Country Albums Chart with the highest debut
and sales of any release in the format that year, making Church 2014’s
top-selling country music artist. The album garnered GRAMMY, CMA and ACM
Album of the Year nominations and featured his No. 1 hits “Give Me Back
My Hometown” and “Talladega,” as well as multiple nominee “Like A
Wrecking Ball.” The Outsiders was the follow-up to Church’s Platinum-certified CHIEF,
named the 2012 Album of the Year by both CMA and ACM, and
GRAMMY-nominated for Best Country Album. The LP featured five Top 20
singles: “Homeboy” (certified Platinum for sales in excess of 1
million); the Top 10 “Like Jesus Does” and the Top 5 “Creepin’” (both
certified Gold for sales in excess of 500,000); and two No. 1 hits
“Drink in My Hand” (certified Platinum) and “Springsteen” (certified
Double Platinum for sales in excess of 2 million singles). Church’s 2006
debut album, Sinners Like Me, and his sophomore album, Carolina, (2009) are both RIAA Gold certified.