Taylor Swift Donates $50K to CHOP for Teen Music Therapy Program

Taylor Swift is more than just a pretty face and an award-winning singer. She's a local philanthropist. 

The seven-time Grammy winner has donated $50,000 to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

The money will support a music therapy cart program for teens who are going through cancer treatment. The program, a recording studio on wheels, will allow teen patients to create and produce their own music.

“We are thrilled that Taylor Swift has chosen to support The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Cancer Center,” Steven M. Altschuler, chief executive officer of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said in a statement. “Her gift will help lift the spirits of many CHOP patients during a difficult time.”

The hospital has undertaken a special initiative for adolescents and young adults that includes a comprehensive, multidisciplinary program of psychosocial services that help provide emotional support.

“Teenagers who are being treated for cancer have emotional and social needs that are different than their younger counterparts. They're facing a frightening diagnosis and treatment during what is already a time of great physical, social and emotional change,” said Stephanie Rogerwick, child life manager at CHOP’s Cancer Center.

The high-tech music therapy cart will be one of the hospital’s innovative resources that it says it hopes supports the emotional well-being of teen patients.