Jo Dee Messina is known for her energetic performances as well as her high-energy life offstage. The exuberant redhead runs six to seven miles a day and competes in marathons — that is, when she’s not in the middle of one of her marathon tour schedules.
 
But no matter how busy she gets, Messina makes time for one job she holds especially dear. As an ambassador for the Special Olympics since 2005, she travels the country to attend fundraising events, perform concerts at opening and closing ceremonies, and use her fame to spread the word about everything the organization does to provide opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities to realize their potential.
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If there’s one thing Danielle Peck loves more than singing, it’s her family. That’s one reason she became the spokesperson for Nashville’s Safe Haven homeless shelter.

“Safe Haven is one of only two homeless shelters in Tennessee that takes in the whole family as a unit,” she says. “Because I’m such a big family person, it made sense to get involved with a place that helps whole families together. I just fell in love with the whole place. They do so much — they keep the kids in school, [they have] budgeting and skill classes for the parents, and they get parents that are out of work back into work. And the success rate is like 84 percent of all the families they take in. That’s incredible!”

On March 24, the “Findin’ a Good Man” singer headlined the second annual Danielle Peck and Friends Benefit Concert for Safe Haven at the Mercy Lounge in Nashville. Performers include Keith Anderson, Eric Church, Bucky Covington and Carolyn Dawn Johnson.

“We’re raising awareness and making money for [Safe Haven] to continue doing what they do, because it’s not a government-funded place,” says Peck. “Anybody who’s ever had to go through hard times, whether it’s a natural disaster or too many medical bills or the loss of a job, their family can find themselves in a position where they lose their homes. It’s a terrible thing to happen to anybody, but there’s a place that tries to help out, and that’s Safe Haven.”

Peck is so sold on the shelter, she volunteers there as often as possible throughout the year. “Anything I can ever do for them, any holiday, any festival, they’ve got my number, they can count me in!”