Five-time Grammy Award-nominated and multiple Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association Award-winning multiplatinum singer-songwriter and producer Kelsea Ballerini made a $100,000 gift to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt to support the hospital’s Pediatric Trauma Injury Prevention Program.
The gift, provided through Ballerini’s Feel Your Way Through Charitable Fund, will benefit the hospital’s efforts to keep the children of Tennessee and beyond safe.
Monroe Carell’s nationally recognized Pediatric Trauma Injury Prevention Program works to reduce traumatic injuries among children and promote safe behaviors in the community. As the only Level 1 pediatric trauma center within 150 miles, the hospital provides specialty services for children from across Tennessee and the Southeast. The program supports families through a broad spectrum of initiatives like firearm injury prevention, teen driver safety, car seat safety and more.
“I’m so inspired and blown away by Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, not only for their medical efforts, but also for their passion and foresight to establish preventive measures to keep kids safe in an ever-changing world,” Ballerini said. “It’s been beautiful to share music over the years with patients in their care, and even more beautiful to be educated by their top practitioners on how to be more of service and truly create change to build a safer community, especially focusing on the littles. Thank you to everyone that has been a part of building the Feel Your Way Through Charitable Fund; this is just the beginning of the work I hope we can continue to do together.”
Ballerini recently made a special visit to Monroe Carell, where she spent time with patients and families in the hospital’s Seacrest Studios. During her visit, she answered interview questions from patients — discussing preferred superpowers, disclosing her fast-food order and sharing advice for coping with life’s challenging times.
She also gave patients a special acoustic performance of her hit songs “Baggage” and “Love Me Like You Mean It,” followed by a meet and greet where she posed for photos with patients and signed autographs.
The visit concluded with Ballerini presenting the $100,000 check to Kelsey Gastineau, MD, MPH, assistant professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine at Monroe Carell, and Heather Kreth, PsyD, clinical pediatric psychologist at Monroe Carell, who lead initiatives around firearm safety and advance pediatric behavioral health services.
Their work has included efforts like Locks for Children’s Safety, an initiative launched in 2024 to expand access to cable firearm locks and promote firearm safety. To date, more than 8,600 locks have been distributed through partnerships with state agencies.
“This incredible gift will have both immediate and lasting impact,” Gastineau said. “Not only will it help us reach and support families right now, but through this generous contribution, Kelsea is directly investing in innovative prevention research that will benefit many more children for years to come. Her generosity creates ripples of positive change that will save lives far beyond what we can see today.”
With this additional funding from Ballerini, the program will be able to expand its outreach and resources.
“Our ability to get safety devices and firearm storage education into the hands of families has the potential to save many lives,” said Kreth. “Kelsea Ballerini’s incredible gift allows us to further grow our work to meet this need.”
Ballerini’s Feel Your Way Through Charitable Fund, named after her national bestselling book “Feel Your Way Through: A Book of Poetry,” raises funds for nonprofits dedicated to mental health and reducing the stigma around seeking help. Committed to supporting mental health initiatives, the Feel Your Way Through Charitable Fund aims to normalize conversations about mental health while providing people with resources and tools needed to access support.
