SamaritanMag Spotlights George Thorogood's Philanthropy
George Thorogood doesn’t call donating money to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society “charity.” He calls it “a tragedy.”
By Karen Bliss
George Thorogood doesn’t call donating money to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society “charity.” He calls it “a tragedy.”
The American boogie blues legend, whose albums have sold more than 15 million copies worldwide over four decades, watched his father-in-law's successful fight with leukemia, a blood disease (he is now in remission).
On his Canadian and U.S. tours, he has been directing a dollar per ticket sold and 100 percent of net proceeds from a specially designed t-shirt to the two organizations whose aim is to “cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.”
In the U.S. the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the largest funder of cutting-edge research to advance cures and has invested more than $1.2 billion (USD) in research. In Canada, in 2017, alone, the LLS spent almost $7.4 million (CAD) — 4.1 million in innovative research and $3.3 million towards patient services and education — a 37 percent increase over 2016
While Thorogood would likely prefer to talk about his latest album, Party of One — at 68-years-old, his first-ever solo album (without his backing group The Destroyers) — he took time out while on tour to have a discussion with Samaritanmag about giving back, as well as what he remembers from performing at Bob Geldof and Midge Ure’s dual-city famine relief concert Live Aid in the 80s.
It’s simple to add a dollar to your ticket price and direct it to a charity. Have you done that before?
MasegoCam Hicks