Metallica has announced a second wave of grants to five organizations doing what the band deems "essential work" during the COVID-19 pandemic. The grants, being given through Metallica's All Within My Hands foundation, total $295,000 and are being awarded to MusiCares, Feeding America, Direct Relief, Live Nation’s Crew Nation initiative, and the Bartender Emergency Assistance Program (BEAP) through the United States Bartenders’ Guild National Charity Foundation.
Metallica has provided summations of each of their organizations they're helping both below and on their website.
FEEDING AMERICA
Feeding America has been on the front lines from day one as they continue to work with their network of local food banks, reacting to the specific needs of individual communities. As the effects of the pandemic are vast, food insecurity has soared, and food banks across the country are suffering from a lack of volunteers, donations, and food distribution assistance from their normal channels. AWMH has pledged $70,000 to this fund which will provide urgently needed meals to families facing food insecurity.
DIRECT RELIEF
Direct Relief continues to work tirelessly as the pandemic spreads to other regions of the world and is distributing emergency shipments of ICU medicine and other critical supplies to more than 80 countries and has provided more than 40 tons of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers on the front lines. As countries in Latin America, Africa, and South Asia became the latest hotspots of the COVID-19 pandemic, Direct Relief has accelerated its response in these regions, beginning with shipments of enough COVID-related emergency medicine and medical supplies to treat more than 50,000 intensive-care patients in developing countries around the globe. Direct Relief is in constant collaboration and communication with allies in the battle to manage this outbreak through its relationships across global, international, and national agencies such as the WHO, the US Dept of Health and Human Services, the CDC, ASPR, State Offices of emergency management, etc. AWMH has pledged $70,000 to this fund.
CREW NATION
As you all know, Metallica’s live shows — all live music in general — would not be possible without the countless crew members working behind the scenes. As COVID-19 continues to put the entire live music industry on pause, we want to extend a helping hand to the touring and venue crews who make their living show-to-show. Our partners at Live Nation initiative committed $10 million to their Crew Nation initiative, contributing an initial $5 million to the fund, then matching the next $5 million donated by artists, fans, and employees. We’re happy to pledge $70,000 to this fund to help those who make it all happen for the band year in and year out on the road. Each grant recipient receives $1,000 USD, so this donation will help 70 crew members across the industry.
THE USBG NATIONAL CHARITY FOUNDATION
In addition to the hard-working crews who support the band on tour, we rely heavily on the worldwide hospitality industry. As restaurants, hotels, coffee shops, bars, and other food and beverage providers continue to remain closed or shift to delivery/pick-up operations, hundreds of thousands of workers are suddenly without jobs. We’re pledging $35,000 to the Bartender Emergency Assistance Program (BEAP) to assist qualified bartenders, bar backs, and bar servers in need of financial assistance. So far, our gifts have helped the BEAP award meaningful grants to over 30,000 hospitality members in all 50 states and two U.S. territories.
MUSICARES
During the past several weeks, the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund has raised more than $17 million dollars and provided aid to thousands of people in the music community. It is the largest amount of money they have ever raised, with the most recipients helped, for any single cause in their history. Unfortunately, the need was so overwhelming that they were forced to stop accepting applications. We are pledging $50,000 to assist with resources toward these unprocessed grants
