Benefit News: Bama Rising Details Coming Today

Bama Rising
Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry of Alabama are expected to announce the details of BAMA Rising today (5/17), a benefit concert for Alabama tornado recovery to be presented by Verizon.

Team Rio
Diamond Rio’s Team Rio raised $110,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters by running in the recent Country Music Marathon. Bandmates Jimmy Olander, Marty Roe and Gene Johnson presented a check to the charity at the 7th Annual Team Rio Finish Line Party. Team Rio 2011 had over 120 adult runners and 80 Team Rio Kids participants from several local schools. Olander accomplished his goal of finishing the half marathon in less than two hours.

(L-R): Lisbeth Couser of Big Brothers Big Sisters, Renee Behrman-Greiman of Modern Management, and Jimmy Olander and Marty Roe of Diamond Rio present a check for $110,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Celeb Softball
The City of Hope Celebrity Softball Challenge annually marks the unofficial kick-off of CMA Music Festival. This year Vince Gill, Dierks Bentley, David Nail, Brett Eldredge, Chuck Wicks, Jake Owen, James Wesley, Josh Gracin and Point of Grace are set to take the field on Saturday, June 11, at 9 a.m. at Greer Stadium in Nashville. For the first time in the game’s history, two City of Hope supporters will hang out in the dugout (visit www.cityofhope.org/connected to enter). The Celebrity Softball Challenge has raised more than $2 million for City of Hope, a leading research, treatment and education institution for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases.

Jars of Clay Benefit Concert
Blood: Water Mission—the organization that began as the vision of Jars of Clay’s Dan Haseltine to impact Africa with safe water in the fight against HIV/Aids—had reason to celebrate recently in Nashville. A concert at the Ryman called the “Well: Done Celebration” was held in honor of the successful completion of the ‘1000 Wells Project’ to provide fresh water wells to 600,000 people. The event raised over $100,000 and brought praises from Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam who was on hand for the celebration.

Jars of Clay's Dan Haseltine joins in the 'Well: Done Celebration' with (L-R) Rich Hoops, Chairman of the Board of Blood: Water Mission; BWM Director Jena Nardella; Haseltine; Governor & Mrs. Bill Haslam; Mike Hamilton, Althletic Director at the University of Tennessee and BWM Board member.