AP Photo/Keystone/Alessandro Della Bella
DCL
It's hard to forget the images from the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. The disaster, which thousands of people, was cited by some experts as a harbinger of climate change. When alternative rockers Linkin Park saw what had happened, they were deeply distressed and wanted to do something to help the victims.
They founded a nonprofit called Music for Relief in the aftermath of the earthquake and waves, and didn't have trouble finding a wide variety of other artists, celebrities and organizations to sign on.
Members on the roster now include Tenacious D, Tears For Fears, Static-X, Coheed & Cambria, Enrique Iglesias, Jurassic 5, and comics Will Ferrell and Chris Rock.
Since the tsunami, the organization has provided monetary assistance to individuals and families affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, notes Executive Director Whitney Showler.
Music for Relief also recently launched a response to disasters in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, including typhoons in the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, earthquakes that struck the Sumatra region of Indonesia and an earthquake and a subsequent tsunami in American Samoa, Western Samoa and Tonga.
Donations for the latest effort are being taken right now. You can donate online or give $5 via your cell phone by texting RELIEF to 90999.
Courtesy of Music for Relief
Music for Relief also is doing work closer to home Linkin Park's home base, in California.
The program, in Los Angeles, is working to promote sustainable growth by helping fund and build an environmentally friendly home with Habitat for Humanity.
Funds for Music for Relief programs come from individual and corporate donations, online auctions, merchandise sales, social media campaigns and per-ticket donations from concerts, Showler says.
Since 2004, the group has raised more than $3.5 million.
