Heavy metal fans give generously to show mental health matters
27 June 2020 at 10:00 am
A charity fundraising project is bringing together metal fans and raising mental health awareness
A UK metal fan has raised more than £10,000 (A$18,000) for a mental health charity after selling donated music patches representing some of the world’s most iconic bands.
Music patches are often used to create a “battle jacket”, which is a staple of heavy metal culture.
Mike Lacy started Patch Amnesty as a charity fundraising project in April last year, asking people to donate their spare patches so he could sell them at music festivals and events to raise money for mental health organisations.
While this was meant to be one-off, the response was so overwhelming that Lacy decided to continue the project.
Patch Amnesty have had patches donated from all over the world and held events around the UK.
Some of the rarest patches donated are from the 1970s and 1980s, with bands such as Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath.
Lacy told Louder more than 3,500 patches have been donated to Patch Amnesty, including an Iron Maiden strip patch that sold for £205 (A$370).
Overall, Patch Amnesty has raised over £10,000 (A$18,000), with the money going to mental health charity MIND.
“I decided on MIND as the charity I wanted to fundraise for as I had recently been diagnosed with my own mental health issues and was on a personal journey to learn more about both mine and mental health in general,” Lacy said.
“Raising awareness has become just as important to me as raising funds for mental health.”
Lacy is also hosting a Marathon4Music event in July to raise funds for the #saveourvenues campaign.
