Taylor Swift Cedar Rapids, Iowa Flood Relief $100,000 Donation

August 9th, 2008 by Castina

Tagged as: Taylor Swift, Today's New Music

Country music star Taylor Swift has donated $100,000 to the Red Cross to aid the flood-stricken community of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Cedar Rapids suffered millions of dollars worth of damage when the Cedar River burst its banks flooding the town in June.

“The people in this town have been through so much loss this year, and my heart goes out to them,” Taylor, 18, told PEOPLE Magazine during a charity in Cedar Rapids on Friday night.

“They’ve stood by me, they gave me a sold-out show. You’ve got to pay it forward in life, and that’s what I’m doing here tonight.”

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5 Responses to “Taylor Swift Cedar Rapids, Iowa Flood Relief $100,000 Donation”

On December 11th 2008, Thankful Iowan wrote:

Hats off to Taylor Swift’s’ gracious generosity to Cedar Rapids’ flood relief when so many have forgotten Cedar Rapids! Taylor Elementary in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, one of the two elementaries in town that offers school year ’round but is still closed due to the flood almost six months ago, just announced that the school will be rebuilt and a bidder has been settled upon. Many of those Taylor Elementary students lost their homes in the 10-square-mile flood-ravaged city. Reports are that many are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

A fair share of their parents, I’m sure, have lost their jobs in the blue-collar part of Cedar Rapids that got flooded the worst and brought gigantic factories to their knees. (We sure don’t have a lot of money for our holiday, but at least we still have our home and you can bet we’ll be donating something.) A lot of Cedar Rapids flood victims are able to stay with family or friends, although that is undoubtedly straining budgets all over the place. Others have moved to start new lives elsewhere. Laborers from all over the country are woking to put the city back together again, some 24/7.

Cedar Rapids no longer receives much national news coverage on the flood, yet FEMA reports they’ve never seen an entire downtown/business district pretty much taken out from a flood, ever. (FEMA’s funds are tight these days and they can’t help near as much or as fast enough as is needed, and several are mom and pop shops, located in the now-ravaged historic Czech village, and downtown Cedar Rapids.)

As wonderful as this article is about Ms. Swift’s great donation, Cedar Rapids hasn’t suffered millions of dollars of damages, so that part is incorrect. In fact, today on the news they said it will cost the City of Cedar Rapids billions of dollars!

So please, on this busy holiday season, take a minute or two to remember this flood and the havoc it wreaked one spring day in the midwest. (Cedar Rapids, of course, isn’t the only midwestern city that experienced floods, perhaps not to this extent, though.) And don’t forget the children, their families, and everyone else who has suffered and lost everything.

True enough that Iowans may not be as prone to looting & crime such as is the case with some other more, unfortunate areas in the US in the past, but it is no reason for the national news media to forget Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Nice to see that Taylor Swift thought of the city!
On December 22nd 2008, summer wrote:

i love taylor swift i was crying every song that nite i went to it in cedar rapds she is the most prettiest and mazing girl ive ever seen i love u summer
On December 22nd 2008, summer wrote:

if i could ever come seee u in real life i would and u r the best person in the world i love u so much if i .. when i heard that u were coming i knew right when i heard it i was going im only 12 but i love u and when i was inline to go to the concert there was a girl infront of me complaining that she was only in th 2 row i was in the last 1 ad it was the best nite of my life and when taylor picked up that little girl that was so sweet i wish that was me but i was still so happy to see that happen and now when i see you on tv cry because u r the best person ever and inspiring
On December 22nd 2008, summer wrote:

and that was so great of u to donate 100,000.00 dollars most people probably wouldnt care
On March 24th 2009, Jessica Meyers wrote:

Taylor Swift is my Fav.!
I live in Cedar Rapids and didn’t get flooded though.
She is the most amazing person i have ever seen!
I love you TAYLOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11