CMT Awards Forgo Swag Bags for a Good Cause

Awards shows are known for drawing some of the hottest celebrities, who in turn score gift bags with high-dollar items from retailers wanting the stars to try their products. But in light of the recent floods that devastated Nashville, the CMT Awards are foregoing the usual swag in order to make a sizable donation to aid in the relief efforts. Country songbird and cookbook author Trisha Yearwood is helping get the word out.

"I am proud of CMT for coming up with a wonderful way to contribute to the Nashville community of flood victims," she says. "Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee does so much to help our community on a daily basis. It's a great partnership, and I'm honored to be a part of it."

In addition to acting as the official spokesperson for the initiative on the red carpet before the CMT Awards, Trisha will also attend the special June 10 event celebrating CMT's $40,000 donation. The money will be given to Feeding America, in conjunction with the Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennesee's BackPack Program, to provide 160,000 meals for more than 400 school children who were most impacted by the floods.

The CMT Awards will play host to several high-profile celebs in and out of the country world, including chef Paula Deen, 'American Idol' judge Kara DioGuardi, 'Heroes' actress Hayden Panettiere, as well as recently-added stars Jada Pinkett-Smith, David Spade and 'Dancing With the Stars' finalists Erin Andrews and Maks Chmerkovskiy, who will all act as presenters during the evening's festivities. The CMT Awards will air live on CMT this Wednesday, June 9, at 8:00 PM ET.



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