The record-breaking numbers just came in from the seventh annual Cleveland Metal Holiday Food Drive that took place on Dec. 5 at the Beachland Ballroom and Tavern. The event featured 12 bands, burlesque performers, a Black Sabbath tribute by the School Of Rock kids and a Playboy model. You can see a slideshow of photos from the event here. It brought in 8,803 pounds of food and $6,001.00 in cash. Proceeds went to Friends of the Cleveland Kennel and the Greater Cleveland Food Bank.
“We had another record breaking year!” says event organizer Bill Peters of WJCU and Auburn Records in a press release. “We collected 4.5 tons of food and over $6,000 in cash. That’s unbelievable! Heavy metal fans are the most generous when it comes to supporting good causes. It feels great to be able to give something back to our community to help those less fortunate during the holiday season. We have a very special music scene here unlike any other. This event has always been a labor of love for me. There are a lot of people who contribute to its success. It was a total team effort!”
Pet donations increased significantly this year with 120% more in food and 40% more in cash collected.
Playboy model Daniella Dior collected food donations at her local events and appearances throughout the year. She was able to raise a total of 4,710 lbs.
“We had already surpassed 2014’s weight total before the show even started with Daniella’s donation,” says Peters. “I could not believe how much food she had in her apartment for us. It was stacked in boxes everywhere! We had to transport it by truck on pallets to the Food Bank a few days early because there was so much.”
In addition, original Alice Cooper bassist Dennis Dunaway and the California-based metal act Night Demon heard about the event and donated prizes to the raffle.
“I can’t thank our sponsors enough for the incredible raffle prizes,” says Peters. “We were giving away an XBox One, Denon turntable, guitars, Derek Hess artwork, a ton of CDs and LPs, concert tickets and more. We sold thousands of raffle tickets. The woman who won the XBox only purchased one $1 ticket the entire night. She was with her teenage daughter and wanted to give it to her for Christmas. She was so excited when I called her number from the stage. It was so cool to see someone like her win this prize. We wanted to give something back to the fans with these raffle prizes for supporting our food drives all these years."
Peters also collected cash donations for Cleveland metal family members Jim Lippucci (Soulless), Kaycee Zack (The Red Hot Heathens) and Jim Konya’s parents who were in need of financial assistance with medical expenses.
