Lauren Alaina Talks About TV Special, “Operation Bowling Green” And Her Personal Connection To The Community

“I was honored to be able to play a show to make any kind of difference for that community.”

This Saturday night, March 18, Circle Network and DISH Network are teaming up to present Operation Appreciation: Bowling Green, a brand new special that will take us all back to Bowling Green, Kentucky, and shine a light back on a community that still needs the help of its neighbors. The special was filmed one year after tornadoes devastated the area in December of 2021.

Lauren Alaina plays host for the special and performs a concert for this Southern community in need. When asked to participate in this event, Alaina told Southern Living  that she “was honored to be able to play a show to make any kind of difference for that community.”

This was the American Idol alum’s second visit to this Kentucky city since the tornado hit. “I went to Bowling Green right after the tornadoes came through. My manager actually has a cousin who lives in Bowling Green and we heard about this family that the mother had passed. They were all in the tornado together and there was a young boy who was very severely injured…  They lost everything so we got them some furniture and took them school supplies and everything the kids would need and took it down there to them.”

She added, “It was devastating to see. News coverage on things like that just can’t really show you the impact. It’s completely different to see it in person.”

The personal connection she made with the family really stuck with Alaina. “That mom’s never coming back home. She’s gone and their home is gone. They had to get a whole new life. And they’re just one example of that, that family is.”

Watching communities have to pick up the pieces and move on after destructive storms is not something new for Alaina. “I have a level of understanding of storms because I’m from Rossville, Georgia, and in 2011 when I was on American Idol, my hometown area was hit by a terrible tornado and my hometown visit was seeing that for the first time.”

Alaina acknowledged that while she understands why the news cycle moves on, she’s glad to be able to shine the spotlight back on the needs of the people of Kentucky. “Things happen every day but for those people, they live that every single day,” she said.

“I do try to use my platform for good. It’s very important to me. It gives a sense of purpose to a very different life. I mean fame is weird. But if I can use it for good that’s what I want to do with it. Sounds very cheesy but it’s true.”

The people of Bowling Green and the rest of Western Kentucky are still recovering and rebuilding from the destruction caused by that tornado outbreak. If you would like to help, Habitat for Humanity Bowling Green/Warren County is still on the ground doing great work. You can also help by donating to the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund.

Be sure to tune into Circle Network for Operation Appreciation: Bowling Green on Saturday, March 18 at 8:30p.m. EST.

For more Southern Living news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Southern Living.