George Harrison's foundation donates $500k for coronavirus relief, to give $1 for every 'Inner Light Challenge'
In a world that has been ravaged by the recent coronavirus pandemic, many musicians and their families have been lending a helping hand to alleviate the ongoing suffering around the globe. The Material World Foundation, created by the late great Beatle George Harrison and his family in 1973, announced on March 26 that they would be donating half a million dollars to three worthwhile charitable causes.
The international charities who will benefit from the $500,000 donation are MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund, Save the Children charity and the Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) organization. All three of these charities are playing a vital role in providing much-needed aid and relief around the globe during this COVID-19 pandemic.
In order to get people engaged in the ongoing coronavirus relief efforts and to help raise additional funds for these charities, The Material World Foundation launched The Inner Light Challenge on social media, based on the Beatles song of the same name. The challenge is pretty straightforward. It requests people around the globe to share a verse, chorus or line from the George Harrison composition, 'The Inner Light', and post it online with the hashtag #innerlight2020, in order to donate $1.
According to Material World's website, "Material World Foundation will donate another $1 (up to $100,000) for every one of you who shares their own 'Inner Light' moment on social media using the hashtag #innerlight2020. This can be a verse, a chorus or a line from the song. Sing it, play it, hum it, strum it, paint it, knit it, chant it, plant it, pray or meditate and post it to social media."
Here's George's son, Dhani, who posted his version of 'The Inner Light' on YouTube:
So for example, you could merely share the lyrics, "Without going out of my door, I can know all things on earth / Without looking out of my window, I can know the ways of heaven," accompanied by #innerlight2020 on Twitter in order to secure a $1 donation. Here's a link to the complete lyrics of the song.
George's wife Olivia Harrison was also part of the initiative. She said, "These lyrics sung by George are a positive reminder to all of us who are isolating, in quarantine or respecting the request to shelter in place. Let's get and stay connected at this difficult time. There are things we can do to help and we invite you to share your Inner Light."
We hope you can get involved in this worthwhile endeavor or even make a donation. With this initiative, it just takes a minute to guarantee some financial aid for people suffering across the globe. As the Beatles said, "All you need is love."