In the lead-up to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's star-studded (supposed?) wedding at Madison Square Garden, which kicks off on July 3, they made a generous slew of donations.
The couple announced in the hours leading up to an apparent rehearsal dinner that they had donated upwards of $26 million to a group of 20 charities, one of those being NYC-based Education Through Music, which received $2 million.
Education Through Music CEO Janice Weinman, speaking exclusively with HELLO!, shared that while they had suspected the gift, the donation was officially made on July 3 itself. "We're extremely grateful for their generosity and their interest for other people and their caring, so it's a wonderful feeling to be on the receiving end."
© Taylor SwiftWhile she noted that she had never previously worked with either the "Shake It Off" singer or the Kansas City Chiefs tight end prior to the donation, they had received a kind message with the gift which affirmed that "they believed in what we were doing and therefore they wanted to make sure that we had the resources to be able to continue to do it and to expand it."
When asked about the couple's wedding itself, Weinman shared: "I think that Taylor Swift in advance of this has generally spoken about the fact that at her wedding, she didn't want gifts, she would rather give money to worthy causes."
"So we certainly knew about it, but we weren't actually expecting it. I think that that's very much an expression of what her celebration means to her and what she wants it to mean to other people."
© Education Through MusicShe also shared a message for the happy couple ahead of wedding festivities, plus what their gift means for the organization. "First of all, we wish them all the very best. They really deserve it."
"Second of all, I think in the minds of the public, their wedding really represents, through these gifts, a gift to mankind, the fact that two people are coming together and that they're bringing other people together to meet their goals, to be able to achieve, to be able to really reach the kind of potential that both of them have. I think it's a wonderful statement. It's a wonderful message, and it's a wonderful gift."
© Getty ImagesShe also touched on the work of the organization itself. "We serve over 18,000 underserved students in New York City's under-resourced public schools. We provide music education as a core subject, not just as an addition or once in a while, we provide music education as a core subject, and to the students who otherwise would never have this opportunity."
© Getty Images"Being able to expand the number of students who received this instruction, being able to provide them with qualified teachers and being able to provide them with instruments that they use in school and afterwards, being able to give them a curriculum that we can develop more through these resources, and with technology, it really makes a difference in what we can do for these students and with them."
