With memories of a successful summer tour in Southeast Asia still fresh in their minds, the members of Linkin Park are spearheading an effort to help victims of the earthquake and tsunami that have devastated the region. With an initial contribution of $100,000 by the rock act, the newly created organization Music for Relief will directly support American Red Cross programs to provide immediate help and long-term support to those in need.
“We are fortunate to be in a position to help, but this needs to be a broader effort,” guitarist Brad Delson says, saying the band will call on fans and peers to join the effort.
“If one of our fans can donate $10, then that’s going to help… We are also going to appeal to our musical peers by asking them to donate as well,” he adds. “The bottom line is the more we can do, and the quicker we can do it, the more lives we can save.”
At deadline, news services were reporting more than 114,000 are confirmed dead in the wake of a tsunami that followed Sunday’s 9.0 magnitude earthquake in the depths of the Indian Ocean, off of the coast of Sumatra.
Over the summer, Linkin Park played sold-out stadium shows in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. “The outpouring of emotion from our fans there was overwhelming,” Delson admits. “It really affected us.”
Linkin Park is no stranger to charity, having donated $500,000 to various charities throughout 2004, according to the band’s label, Warner Bros. The group’s official Web site includes an “Awareness” section, with links to such organizations as the International Child Abuse Network, the United Way and the Japanese American National Museum.
Delson describes the band’s creation of Music for Relief as “our way of giving back to the people who so desperately need it.”
Those interested in information about contributing to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, can visit the Music for Relief Web site at www.musicforrelief.org.
Source billboard.com.
