Jon Bon Jovi, Barry Gibb, and Zac Hanson are among the new artists contributing items to the Raven Drum Foundation’s annual charity auction, 12 Drummers Drumming. Bon Jovi has donated a signed acoustic guitar which has a starting bid of $1,000. Zac Hanson, whose one-third of the pop group Hanson alongside his brothers, Isaac and Taylor, is auctioning off a fully-produced, custom-made song to the highest bidder. The bidding starts at $7,000.
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“I don’t want people to just give money. It’s not just about an exchange. I love the idea that it would connect people as well, what gets sold or auctioned,” Hanson tells says about participating in the auction. “There’s a humanity shared. We’re both people, and I’ve touched this and you can see the fingerprints. The idea of giving a song, I think, is really taking that even one step further.”
Raven Drum Foundation was founded in 2001 by Def Leppard‘s Rick Allen, and his wife, healing arts practitioner Lauren Monroe. The Foundation works to provide healing resources and empowerment to veterans and first responders. “By integrating advocacy, storytelling, music, and arts programs and events, the organization brings the tools and experiences of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to support and inspire mental health, resiliency, and unity,” according to a press release.
KISS‘ Peter Criss, Steve Jordan of The Rolling Stones, Toto‘s Steve Lukather, and Stewart Copeland of The Police are among the many other newly announced artists supporting the cause. They join several other previously announced artists who’ve donated items, including Taylor Swift, Dave Matthews, and Nikki Sixx, and Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe.
“I recently had the chance to attend a Raven Drum Foundation event and was really impacted by the healing effect the drum circle and joining together in a shared rhythm with a community of people had on me,” Sixx shared in a statement.
The auction closes on Veterans Day (November 11) at 3 p.m. ET.
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