Report by Peter Mann
Thanet and East Kent rock band Collateral have raised £600 through the sale of limited edition T-shirts which has been donated to a charity caring for children with terminal conditions
In the first of what the band hopes will be a series of fundraisers frontman Angelo Tristan and his fellow bandmates, Todd Winger, Ben Atkinson and Jack Bentley Smith were unanimous in their support of Demelza Hospice for Children charity.
The charity aims to provide specialist care and emotional support for children with terminal conditions, and their loved ones, in-and-around the Kent, South East London, and East Sussex area.
Launched over two decades ago the charity says: “We believe every child and young person who has a terminal condition should receive the care and attention they need to live the most fulfilling life they can, and that they and their families have the opportunity to build memories, for however long they have together.”
Angelo said: “We had a general discussion with the label (Roulette Media) about what we could do to help other people.
“(Overall) we’re messing the world up for the next generation, the children, and they have to clean up our mess so the least we can do now is to try and help them the best we can, right now so that’s what we did – it wasn’t a hard choice really.”
The limited t-shirt had artwork created for free by Kent graphic designer Sean De Burcam and sold out in 24 hours. Collateral raised £600 for the charity using the tag-line ‘if you want more tours, stay indoors.’
It went down a treat with Collateral fans, so much so they released another T-shirt, promoting their Rough Cuts documentary series, a few weeks later.
“It was a good cause to get involved with and it was a nice surprise that it sold-out as quickly as it did,” said Angelo.
“We had an inkling it would sell quite quickly and because of that success we were able to put together and release the Rough Cuts one as well.”
A spokesperson for Roulette Records said: “Collateral approached us with the idea of producing a t-shirt that had a message they felt was important, ‘if you want more tours, stay indoors’ and for people to stay safe during the Covid-19 Lockdown.
“Neither the band, nor Roulette, wanted to profit from the sale of them so it was agreed that all monies raised would go to a Kent charity since both parties are Kent-based.
“After researching the charities in the area it was agreed that the donation would go to Demelza House who, like many charities, have turned to the public for support during these difficult times and have had to think outside of the box to raise funds to continue the important work they do with children.
“Both Roulette, and Collateral, were thrilled when the fans got behind the fundraiser and went online in droves to make purchases, selling out within 24 hours of going on sale.”
Nicola Irvine, Senior Community Fundraising Manager at Demelza Hospice Care for Children, added: “A huge thanks goes out to Collateral for raising over £600 for the services we provide to children with terminal conditions and their families here at Demelza.
“88% of our funding comes from our generous supporters and the Coronavirus pandemic has meant our fundraising has taken a significant hit – thank you, we couldn’t do it without you.”
Moving forward, Collateral have a number of announcements to make regarding the remainder of this year and what the future will hold for them moving forward.
First up however, it’ll be the release of the latest Rough Cuts documentaries covering the Phil X tour, and no doubt much more.
To check them out follow the band on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/
Demelza can be found at https://www.facebook.com/