.jpg)
On April 7, musician Chappell Roan took to her Instagram to invite fans to stop by her merch table at upcoming tour dates and drop off friendship bracelets for a good cause.
“We are taking donations at the merch table,” Roan wrote in an Instagram story caption. “Drop off Chappell/LGBTQ+ themed friendship bracelets. We resell them and 100% goes to the charity below: mercyusa.org.”
Mercy-USA for Aid and Development is a nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian aid, healthcare, and access to clean water to causes on a global scale.
Mercy-USA is currently raising emergency funds for relief in Gaza, as well as promoting a monthly, trifold campaign to benefit families in Gaza, Yemen, and Syria on the brink of famine.
According to their website, Mercy-USA has partnered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for 15 years “supporting education and healthcare projects, as well as responding to emergencies like this one.”
Why friendship bracelets?
Last year sparked a renaissance for friendship bracelets, as the Taylor Swift song lyric “make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it” inspired Eras tour attendees to bring bracelets and exchange them with fellow fans.
The trend soon caught with concert fans at large as they crafted colorful, themed bracelets in anticipation of Beyoncé, Noah Kahan, and Olivia Rodrigo shows.
Roan and her band opened for Rodrigo during the first leg of her GUTS tour — which has already done its fair share of giving back.
What causes has Roan supported in the past?
In February, Rodrigo launched a reproductive rights initiative at the tour’s kickoff in California, with a portion of Rodrigo and Roan’s GUTS Tour ticket proceeds benefiting Fund 4 Good.
“Fund 4 Good works to support all women, girls, and people seeking reproductive health freedom,” Rodrigo said in an Instagram live announcement. “The fund will directly support community-based nonprofits that champion things like girls' education, support reproductive rights, and prevent gender-based violence.”
In March, Rodrigo announced that ticket proceeds from tour stops in Montreal and Ontario would go to Women’s Shelters Canada, which provides resources and shelter for women seeking safety from abuse.
“Abuse can take many forms. It can be physical, it can be online, it can be emotional, it can be financial, it can be psychological,” Rodrigo shared in an Instagram story. “This is a very important cause to me.”
While Roan’s ties to Rodrigo’s fundraisers are more recent examples of her advocacy work, Roan has been using her platform to amplify social justice movements for years.
Since her single, “Pink Pony Club” propelled her to stardom in 2020, the singer has done concert benefits and raised funds for a number of nonprofits including The Trevor Project, The GLO Center, and For The Gworls.
“Let’s redistribute our funds to the trans community right now,” Roan said in an interview with Teen Vogue last summer.
“Let’s make sure our trans community is okay on rent. Let’s have each other’s backs right now. Let’s be safe and watch out for each other. Give with your heart but also give with your wallet and your time.”
Header image via Jason Martin / Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED)
