"Crown Royal Honors the Military Community Ahead of Veteran's
Day announcing a donation to CreatiVets as part of the Crown Royal
Generosity Fund $1 million commitment
to serving those who serve us"
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 10,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Crown Royal returned to the CMA
Awards for its fifth year as the program's exclusive whisky
partner, this time with country music superstar Lainey Wilson and nonprofit organization
CreatiVets, a charity designed to help veterans heal through music
therapy and the arts. The award-winning whisky brand celebrated
Country Music's Biggest Night™, which aired live on ABC
Wednesday, November 9, by raising a
glass to the most generous among us, active-duty military and
veterans. CreatiVets founder, Richard
Casper, joined Wilson, the CMA Awards New Artist and Female
Vocalist winner, live, on-stage to receive a surprise donation of
$50,000, on behalf of Crown Royal.
Just ahead of Veterans' Day, the brand is proud to honor Casper's
selflessness and lifesaving work through the foundation and further
its steadfast support of the military community.
The storied Canadian whisky brand also celebrated and hosted
veterans from all over the country in Nashville to participate in the Crown Royal
Purple Bag Project, an initiative designed in partnership with
Packages From Home, which turns donated Crown Royal bags into care
packages for military overseas. Leading up to the CMA Awards,
country superstar Lainey Wilson
surprised the veterans and packed purple bags for active duty
service men and women. During the private gathering, Wilson and the
veterans not only packed purple bags, but also bonded over their
shared love of music. Wilson was able to truly connect with them,
hear the veterans' stories, and learn how music continues to play a
fundamental role in their healing journey.
"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," said Wilson. "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."
During the show, Wilson gave viewers the opportunity to trigger
an additional donation from Crown Royal to CreatiVets by scanning a
QR code that appeared onscreen or by visiting
www.crownroyal.com/cmascreativets. These donations will be added to
the $50,000 Crown Royal will
contribute to help CreatiVets continue to serve hundreds of
veterans each year through music therapy and songwriting
workshops.**
"I am honored CreatiVets is being recognized for the life-saving
work we're doing to empower and heal veterans with music," said
Richard Casper, founder of
CreatiVets. "As we saw last night, music brings people together and
I cannot wait to further our mission thanks to the generosity of
Crown Royal."
Crown Royal has a deep tradition of giving back, and as a
long-standing supporter of the military, is proud to support the
most generous people in our communities who selflessly serve
others. For over a decade, Crown Royal has ignited exceptional
generosity within our communities by giving back to the people and
places that support them. Through partnerships with organizations
like Packages From Home, the brand has supported over 1 million
servicemen and women through the Purple Bag Project. This very
season, Crown is taking the bag-packing program that provides food,
hygiene, and entertainment items to veterans worldwide, with events
all across the country.
"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," said Nicky Heckles, Vice President of Crown Royal. "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."
Crown Royal reminds everyone 21+ that living generously is not
about what you have, but about what you give. And, most
importantly, to always drink responsibly.
**No minimum for additional donation via consumer QR Code
scan/website visit. Donation made via the Crown Royal Generosity
Fund, a donor advised fund with Diageo North America, Inc. as the
donor and which is administered by Fairfield County's Community
Foundation, an IRS 501(c)(3) organization. Donation is part of a
larger charitable giving initiative through which $1,000,000 will be donated to select national and
local charities between 9/8/2022
& 6/30/2023. The dispersal of funds from the Crown Royal
Generosity Fund is subject to the approval of the Fairfield
County's Community Foundation.
About Crown Royal
Crown Royal Canadian Whisky is the number-one selling Canadian
whisky brand in the world and has a tradition as long and
distinctive as its taste. Specially blended to commemorate a grand
tour of Canada made by King
George VI and Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain in 1939, Crown Royal's smooth,
elegant flavor and gift-worthy presentation reflect its regal
origins – it is considered the epitome of Canadian whisky. For more
information, visit crownroyal.com. Crown Royal encourages all
consumers to please enjoy responsibly.
About Diageo North
America
Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an
outstanding collection of brands including Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Bulleit and
Buchanan's whiskies, Smirnoff,
Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Casamigos, DeLeon and Don Julio tequilas, Captain Morgan,
Baileys, Tanqueray and Guinness.
Diageo is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: DEO)
and the London Stock Exchange (LSE: DGE) and their products are
sold in more than 180 countries around the world.
For more information about Diageo, their people, brands, and
performance, visit www.diageo.com. Visit Diageo's global
responsible drinking resource, www.DRINKiQ.com, for information,
initiatives, and ways to share best practice. Follow on Twitter and
Instagram for news and information about Diageo North America:
@Diageo_NA.
About CreatiVets
CreatiVets' is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission
is to provide wounded veterans struggling with post-traumatic
stress and traumatic brain injury with opportunities to use art,
music, and creative writing to heal their unseen wounds of war.
Their goal is to empower veterans with tools they can use for the
rest of their lives and enable them to see their own capacity for
success in an arena outside the battlefield. Learn more at
creativets.org.
About the CMA Awards
The first "CMA Awards Banquet and Show" was held in 1967. The
following year, the CMA Awards was broadcast for the first time –
making it the longest running, annual music awards program on
network television. The CMA Awards have aired on ABC since 2006.
ABC is the network home of the CMA Awards and CMA's other two
television properties, "CMA Fest" and "CMA Country Christmas."
About Lainey Wilson
Six-time CMA Award nominee and ACM New Female Artist of the Year
2022 winner, Lainey Wilson has
earned the enthusiasm of the industry, having been named to nearly
every "Artist to Watch" list, being crowned Billboard's "Top New
Country Artist of 2021," and earning CMT's 2022 "Breakout Artist of
the Year" honor, the Louisiana
native is one of Nashville's
hottest and most buzzed-about new artists. Landing her first No. 1
with her PLATINUM Certified ACM Song of the Year "Things A Man
Oughta Know," nearly 10 years to the day after leaving her small
farming community in a camper trailer to chase her dreams, she has
won over legions of fans with her signature Bell Bottom Country
sound and aesthetic, which blends traditional Country with a modern
yet retro flare. A prolific and sought-after songwriter (having
co-writer credits on songs by artists including Luke Combs, Flatland
Calvary and more), Lainey is a fresh, fierce voice in
Nashville, delivering CMA
nominated album of the year with her label debut, Sayin' What I'm
Thinkin'. With a rockstar stage presence, her artistry has taken
her across the globe, performing for sold-out crowds throughout the
US, UK, and Germany with notable
names like Jon Pardi, Luke Combs, Morgan
Wallen, HARDY, Jason Aldean,
Ashley McBryde, and more. After
topping the country radio charts for a second time with the
two-week No. 1 hit, "Never Say Never" with Cole Swindell, her current single "Heart Like a
Truck" is Top 20 and climbing, with the HARDY collaboration "wait
in the truck" sitting close behind in the Top 30. Her newest album
"Bell Bottom Country" is out now and she's soon to make her acting
debut on the hit series Yellowstone on November 13.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Michelle Gattenio
DIAGEO
Michelle.Gattenio@diageo.com
TAYLOR
crownroyal@taylorstrategy.com
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SOURCE Crown Royal