When Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins passed away on March 25, the music world lost a beloved member of the community. Messages of love, mourning and Hawkins' generosity were shared by friends, family and fans.
A recent Reddit post by @MBAH2017 caught the attention, including musician Tom Morello who retweeted it, of those mourning Hawkins.
It was just some of the stories Reddit users shared including one from Apart-Cartoonist-834 about how Hawkins gave a broke waiter seats — good seats — to a Foo Fighters show.
Some may or may not be aware of Hawkins' philanthropic efforts, in addition to what the Foo Fighters had participated in such as the ACLU of Southern California, Global Poverty Project and during the COVID-19 pandemic, the #SaveOurVenues campaign, among others.
Related Link: Foo Fighters Drummer Taylor Hawkins Suddenly Dies As Band Set To Perform
Hawkins' interest in and contributing to — via it performing in a concert or by other means — a variety of organizations included a focus on cystic fibrosis and autism; his nephew is autistic. Hawkins' side project, Chevy Metal, performed at benefits for autism groups.
Another organization Hawkins was involved in was Mauli Ola Foundation, which "was organized to educate, spread awareness and provide alternative therapies for genetic disorders, such as cystic fibrosis. MOF created on-site national support programs for kids and adults with life-threatening illnesses and disabilities. These on-site programs include surf experience days and children's hospital visits," said its website.
In a YouTube interview with Outside Magazine about his philanthropy and the foundation, Hawkins said "The world has given so much, blessed me so much with my career ... if all I have to do is show up, play the drums and raise some awareness and maybe raise a few bucks, spend a little time with some folks with autism or with Mauli Ola and cystic fibrosis, it's so worth it, such a good feeling to do that and so necessary."
More recently in December 2021, Hawkins was joined by Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme and Troy Van Leeuwen, Tool's Danny Carrey, Red Hot Chile Peppers' Chad Smith and Jane's Addiction Chris Chaney to perform at Bring Back the Arts benefit at Malibu Elementary School.
Photo: Raph_Ph via Flickr Creative Commons
