Top Story — February: Taylor Swift cuts check for Sarasota fundraiser

Following a string of charitable donations, Grammy-winning pop star Taylor Swift has lent financial support to an iconic Sarasota event.

Swift donated $100,000 to the V Foundation for Cancer Research through the 2016 Dick Vitale Gala, which will be held May 13, at the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota, according to social media posts from Hall of Fame ESPN basketball analyst Dick Vitale and representatives from the foundation. The charity funds pediatric cancer research.

The recent donation brings Swift's contributions to the charity to $200,000, following the $100,000 she raised in 2014 with the sales of the single “Ronan.”

In a Feb. 23 tweet, Vitale called the donation “a magical moment.” He also posted an Instagram picture of himself, Swift's father, Scott Kingsley Swift and former Sarasota County Commissioner Joe Barbetta having dinner at Brio Tuscan Grill at the Mall at University Town Center the same day.

“Thanks so much Taylor (for your) generosity to held kids battling cancer,” Vitale writes in the latter post.

“We’re working diligently to make the upcoming event a huge success,” said Mary Kenealy-Barbetta, whose firm Mary Kenealy Events oversees the gala. “This is just a huge jump-start for us.”