Metallica donate £40,000 to homeless charity based near Download Festival site
Metallica have donated £40,000 to a homeless charity based near to the Download Festival site, where they have played two headline shows this weekend.
The metal icons played the first of their two headline slots at the 2023 instalment of the heavy metal festival on Thursday night (June 8) , then going on to play a second and entirely different set on Saturday (June 10).
Continuing their charitable donations while on their extensive two-year-long tour, the band have made a sizeable donation to Leicester-based charity Help The Homeless through their All Within My Hands Foundation.
Help The Hopeless provides support for “workforce education, the fight against hunger, disaster relief and other critical local services.”
Talking about the donation to the BBC, charity founder Arif Voraji said: “I started following their foundation on social media a couple of years ago and flagging our work but that was it.
“Then I got an email from them which said they were playing at Download, just down the road at Castle Donington, and they wanted to support local charities. It was amazing and I was a bit stunned. It’s come at the perfect time as things were looking patchy.”
Voraji added: “We’ve seen a massive drop in donations from the public and donations from corporations, but at the same time, we’ve seen an increase in demand. We’ve seen a 100% increase in demand for our food bank and our other food services and it’s not just individuals coming to us, it’s families too.
“This money is a lifeline for really vulnerable people. It will help us to keep doing what we’re doing and help not only homeless people but others who are struggling, people in recovery, people who have just moved into new accommodation.
“But it will also help us with the day-to-day costs of running the charity and just keep the lights on.”
Metallica released their latest studio album ‘72 Seasons’, earlier this year, and kicked off their huge world tour in Amsterdam last month.
In a four-star review of the opening show, NME hailed the band as “still the greatest heavy metal band around”.
“James Hetfield’s grin couldn’t be wider as he launches into the first blistering solo, while Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo manage to create a two-person circle pit on the opposite side of the stage. If there are any first-night nerves, the band aren’t showing it,” it read.
“Metallica have always been a gateway band for heavy music, but there’s a renewed excitement around them now. Tonight’s surprising, ambitious and giddy gig matches that energy at every turn.”
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