SEATTLE — Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay, was just 10 years old when his mother taught him to always give back to the less fortunate and that is something he still does to do to this day. Martin reportedly donates 10 percent of his alleged $90 million a year to 28 different charities. Chris Martin is known for his charity work on behalf of fair trade and human rights, as well as children affected by poverty, war and disease. In 2016, Chris Martin even signed a pair of Adidas for the Small Steps Project to auction off for charity for example, while in 2017, the band donated 10 percent of their total annual net worth of $475 million to charities.
Migrant Offshore Aid Station
Martin has since become a long-term patron of the Migrant Offshore Aid Station organization (MOAS), which operates professional search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas. One of its main goals is to save refugees fleeing persecution and unrest in the Middle East.
Coldplay’s lead singer, Chris Martin stated that “[every year], Moas rescue thousands of people who risk death at sea while searching for a better life. But for an accident of geography, those people could be us and we could be them. For this reason, we’re proud to support Moas’ life-saving work”. The majority of these refugees come from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and over the last two years, this organization has aided 33,000 refugees during their crossing.
Coldplay has contributed to MOAS by donating proceeds from their 2017 song, “Aliens” off of their Kaleidoscope EP. Coldplay also teamed up with MOAS to create a t-shirt that reads “I AM YOU”.
Other Charitable Work
While on tour in Australia, Coldplay made sure to support a wide range of charities like City of Hope and the Red Cross. The band also performed at the Children in Need Manchester fundraising concert.
As a band, Coldplay’s charity work includes being vocal supporters of the Amnesty International which is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights. Coldplay, as well as other bands, came together to perform at a concert in 2015 that benefits Amnesty International. It also happened to be the organization’s 50th-anniversary fighting for human rights.
In 2005, Coldplay’s charity work also filmed for the Make Poverty History campaign and it resulted in the biggest anti-poverty movement under the banner of Make Poverty History. Make Poverty History is a campaign in Great Britain and Ireland that is a coalition of charities, religious groups, trade unions, campaign groups and celebrities who use Britain’s prominence in world politics to pressure governments to take action against poverty.
– Ariel Deahl
Photo: Flickr