Crown Royal and Country Music Star Lainey Wilson Honor Military Community with $50,000 Donation at CMA Awards

Lainey Wilson attends the 2022 BMG Pre-CMA Party at Brooklyn Bowl Nashville on Nov. 8 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for BMG/BBR Music Group)

Crown Royal returned to the Country Music Association Awards this year as the show’s official whiskey partner. However, this year was a bit different.

This year the brand celebrated the night alongside New Artist and Female Vocalist winner Lainey Wilson, the country music star behind hits like “Things a Man Oughta Know” and “Watermelon Moonshine,” and the nonprofit organization CreatiVets. CreatiVets is a charity designed to help veterans heal through music therapy and the arts.

The founder of CreatiVets, Richard Casper, joined Wilson on stage to accept a donation of $50,000 on Crown Royal’s behalf.

“Our brand prides itself on honoring icons that keep their communities thriving and we’re thrilled to recognize Richard Casper for his incredible acts of service to the military through CreatiVets. Our longstanding partnership with CMA gives us a platform to amplify the military community we so strongly support and gives them the spotlight they deserve,” Nicky Heckles, vice president of Crown Royal, said in a news release. “Crown Royal is proud to come together with Lainey Wilson, CreatiVets, and the larger country music family to celebrate veterans who have selflessly served this country.”

The Crown Royal Purple Bag Project is a partnership with Packages From Home, which turns donated Crown Royal bags into care packages for our troops overseas. Image via Crown Royal.

Crown Royal has been supporting the military for over a decade. Through partnerships with organizations like CreatiVets and Packages From Home, the brand has supported over 1 million servicemen and women through the Purple Bag Project.

“The CMA Awards are so special and getting an opportunity to connect with these veterans, now turned musicians, right before Veterans’ Day was truly incredible,” Wilson said. “I can tell you firsthand about the healing power of music and it’s been a privilege to join Crown Royal and CreatiVets in honoring the military community that I admire and respect so deeply through something I love.”

Those who wish to donate can do so by visiting www.crownroyal.com/cmascreativets. All additional donations made through this link will be added to the $50,000 Crown Royal is contributing to CreatiVets.

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