The Who have always responded quickly to charitable crises. In the past twenty or so years the band has especially helped the Teenage Cancer Trust, raising close to £3,000,000 to provide specialist teenage cancer wards. The sell-out concerts by The Who and their friends at the Royal Albert Hall in London have become a flagship event in TCT’s annual calendar. In November 2011, Pete and Roger, supported by Robert Plant and Dave Grohl, held a benefit concert in Los Angeles to kick start Teen Cancer America.
Roger and Pete have supported the Teenage Cancer Trust for many years in the UK and it is their long-range goal to establish Teen Cancer America programs in strategic locations across the United States. A fund has been established and administrated by UCLA to cover expenses of the launch of Teen Cancer America. The first unit was opened in the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in November 2012. One dollar from every ticket sold on The Who’s 2015 North American Tour was donated to Teen Cancer America.
“The disease should be a mere comma in the lives of teenagers, not a devastating full stop. It’s a big ambition, but we can get there by working together.” – Roger Daltrey
THE WHO Cares Teen Cancer America Promo from Charles Uy on Vimeo.
September 17, 2019: Roger Daltrey opens a new Teen Cancer America unit at Bon Secours St Francis Hospital, Greenville, SC
Roger made a detour between The Who’s NYC and Atlanta shows to open the latest Teen Cancer America facility at Bon Secours St Francis Hospital in Greenville, South Carolina. He unveiled a guitar he had signed with Pete which is now on display there. Roger spent some private time with a group of young patients, engaging and encouraging them before stepping up to speak on behalf of The Who’s charity to an appreciative audience. The state of the art social zone and treatment area has been designed especially for young people and includes unique modern features like circadian lighting that changes color to promote sleep at night and energy during the day. Significant funding had been provided by First Citizens Bank who are Teen Cancer America’s most generous corporate partners.
Roger said “This wonderful facility sets the standard for young people’s cancer treatment in America. Teen Cancer America are proud to partner the hospital. We are so grateful to First Citizens bank for their incredible support. We need more of corporate America, who rely on young people for their profits, to help Teen Cancer America deliver these specialist facilities and programs for young Americans suffering from this pernicious disease.”
Photos © Eric Glenn Photography
For further information about Teen Cancer America and how YOU can help, please go to www.teencanceramerica.org
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Roger Daltrey has been a longstanding patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust for many years and, with Pete Townshend at his side giving his full support, has helped raise millions of pounds for the charity.
Says Roger, “Every year Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall raises essential funds to support the charity’s work. I am incredibly proud of what we have already achieved and am inspired about what we will accomplish together.
Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to be part of many very memorable moments in the shows history. I have many fond memories such as playing a surprise support set for Richard Ashcroft with Paul Weller, Kelly Jones, Liam and Noel Gallagher; or seeing Little Britain’s first live performance and the Kaiser Chiefs opening up for Franz Ferdinand before taking the music world by storm.
Within these memories of unique collaborations and musical firsts are the faces of the incredible young people I have met. Over the years I have met many young people with cancer and like Teenage Cancer Trust, I believe that they shouldn’t have to stop being teenagers just because they have this disease. They have helped me understand that they are young people first – cancer patients second and I am always struck by their enthusiasm, positivism and their lust for life.”
Talking about the charity, Roger said: “At a time when your body is changing, your social life is everything and you’re still trying to figure out who you are, getting cancer can seem like an impossible blow to take. But thanks to the Teenage Cancer Trust, thousands of teenagers are taking it, and coming out fighting.
“I hope that our fans will really get behind Who Cares and do their bit to make a difference to young people living with cancer. Your support will help the Teenage Cancer Trust to build enough specialist units so every single teenager will be treated in one, giving them the very best chance of a positive outcome. Let’s show them Who Cares!”
If you want to make a donation to Teenage Cancer Trust, you can do so online, by clicking here. You can see what other Who fans have donated and the messages of support they’ve left. You can also text to donate. Please text TEEN to 70300. Texts cost £3 and your standard message rate. 100% of your donation goes to Teenage Cancer Trust.
The Double O Charity was started by The Who in 1976 to help Erin Pizzey fund her Chiswick Women’s Refuges. It then became the first concert fundraiser for Nordoff-Robbins. In 1983 Pete Townshend took over Double O and performed concerts to support a large number of drug rehab charities, the Prince’s Trust and Rock Against Racism, and a one-off show at London’s Dominion Theatre – The Snowball Revue – to further fund Pizzey’s work.
The Charity runs under Townshend’s initiative as a private dispersal charity focussed more than ever on ‘survival’ from drug and alcohol damage, domestic violence, sexual abuse, music education, emergency relief for International disasters, and young people’s prison reform. It has dispersed over £4,000,000 since inception from Townshend and Who-related activities
From 1989 onwards the funds dispersed by Double O increased considerably because The Who reconvened for an anniversary tour, generating several million dollars for children’s charities throughout the U.K. and U.S. in 1989 alone. The Double O Charity has a history of working both with individuals and large treatment programmes via a team of sponsored and volunteer qualified helpers.
The Who as a group have always responded quickly to charitable crises. From giving their performance to worthy causes such as Live Aid and Live 8 and Concert for New York, to Roger and Pete’s direct involvement in fundraising through their respective trustee roles in The Teenage Cancer Trust and The Double O Charity.
In recent years the band has helped the Teenage Cancer Trust raise close to £3,000,000 to provide cancer wards and screening units for young people. In 2000, Double O held a charity Internet auction and donated £300,000 to Oxfam for their Mozambique Earthquake appeal. In 2005, The Who appeared in New York raising funds for Double O as part of a Four Seasons of Hope event to benefit children in need which was sponsored by Samsung.
They have since performed at charity concerts for Killing Cancer in London to Teen Cancer America and the Sandy Relief Concert in the USA.
Since 2002, many of The Who’s tours have been recorded and live CDs of the shows have been sold as part of its Encore series. The net proceeds have gone to Double O and the Teenage Cancer Trust – totalling over £1,000,000.
The work continues to enable Double O to maintain continuity in its support of worthy charitable causes during these challenging economic times.