August 12, 2024
I blogged yesterday about Michael Bloomberg, who is giving away billions of dollars to charity, primarily to educational institutions.
Today, let’s turn our focus to country music superstar Brad Paisley. I know nothing about his music, though Wikipedia tells us that he has placed 35 songs on the U.S. Billboard Country Airplay chart, 20 of which reached number one; had ten consecutive singles reach the top spot in 2009; has sold over 11 million albums; has won three Grammys, 14 Academy of Country Music Awards, 14 Country Music Association Awards, two American Music Awards and was inducted into the Grand Oe Opry.
It turns out that he’s a pretty decent fellow, too.
Back in March of 2020, Paisley and his wife Kimberly created “The Store” in Nashville, which is a grocery store like any other, with one notable difference: the customers do not pay for their groceries, allowing people facing food insecurity to shop, in his words, “with dignity.” Says Paisley: “We’ve all seen the situations where people are willing to go get a handout in a brown bag from the back of a truck. We envisioned something completely different, where all of the sting of the indignity, that comes with really your kids seeing you in this precarious position.”
In the four and a half years that have elapsed since the store’s doors opened, it has expanded to include counseling, budgeting, cooking and literacy classes, pet care, back-to-school support, music therapy and a new toy section.
Now the Paisleys are in the process of opening a second location in North Nashville.
Meanwhile, some billionaires are building rocket ships and yachts.