The Lathums launch ‘Chance To See’ charity fund for children and young people
The Lathums have announced the launch of their ‘Chance To See’ fund, which will help provide young people with creative opportunities in their hometown of Wigan.
The charitable endeavour – launched as part of a long-term partnership with the cultural education charity Curious Minds – will see 100 per cent of funds directed to established youth and community providers in Wigan, particularly to help young people who face economic or social inequality.
The fund borrows its name from a line in their 2021 single ‘How Beautiful Life Can Be’. “Let the children have their chance to see / Just how beautiful life can be,” the lyrics go.
The ‘Chance To See’ fund was launched with an intimate show and gift-giving event, which you can see footage of below. You can donate to the fund here.
“Just having an acoustic guitar when times have been tough has meant that The Lathums became possible and offered us escape from whatever was happening in our lives at the time,” the band said in a statement.
“Some people can’t get their hands on a guitar or encounter any other form of creativity and the idea of never having that opportunity breaks our hearts. When attention has rightly been on heating and eating through the colder months, by starting this fund with Curious Minds we’d also like to take care of some of the other things that make life worth living.”
The fund is expected to focus on providing opportunities for children and young people to “perform, visit, experience and participate in brilliant arts and culture”, according a press release.
Kelly Allen, executive director for social justice at Curious Minds, said: “Young people living in challenging circumstances need hope. They need inspiration, a form of expression and a way to imagine life different from how it is now. These are all things that art and culture do extremely well. We’re very proud to be working with The Lathums to improve life for the young people in Wigan who really need it.”
Last weekend, The Lathums landed their second UK Number One with their new album ‘From Nothing To A Little Bit More’.
Speaking to OfficialCharts.com, the band said: “This is a thank you to our community that we’ve created and brought together. You don’t understand the power that we hold together. It’s going to be the best ride ever!”
The Killers covered ‘How Beautiful Life Can Be’ with frontman Alex Moore during shows in Vienna and Amsterdam last summer, with Moore describing Brandon Flowers to NME as a “proper gentleman”, adding: “You only get to live that kind of thing — going on stage with The Killers — once, so I’m sorted now, me.”
Elsewhere, The Lathums recently announced details of a huge outdoor gig in Manchester they’ll play this summer.
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Hollie Geraghty
NME
