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More than 25 volunteers helped check, sort and package food that will provide around 3,700 meals to people in need, Randy Holden, director of volunteer services for Feeding Southwest Virginia, said.

began coordinating the volunteer day with Feeding Southwest Virginia a few months ago, Holden said. All Within My Hands was started in 2017 as a way to create sustainable communities by supporting workforce education, the fight against hunger and other critical services, such as disaster response. Ren茅e Richardson, director of philanthropy for All Within My Hands, said that the foundation is 鈥渞eally the sum of all the parts that make Metallica.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 equal parts fans, it鈥檚 equal parts financial contribution, equal parts corporate sponsorship,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e open for business and working with people to help in any way we can, and we鈥檙e just really excited about what the future holds for this foundation.鈥�

The foundation has organized 鈥渧olunteer activations鈥� similar to the one Wednesday at around a dozen stops on this leg of Metallica鈥檚 M72 World Tour. It also partnered with the American Red Cross to organize opportunities for fans to donate blood while the band is in town.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just become such a cool little fabric of the community, which I think is really neat,鈥� Richardson said.

All Within My Hands was born from the members of Metallica鈥檚 personal passion for volunteering, she said. The band has always taken steps to give back to the communities they visit on tour, usually surrounding hunger initiatives, because the idea that anyone would go hungry is 鈥渃razy鈥� to them. It all started with the band鈥檚 first Day of Service in 2018, in which they encouraged fans to volunteer at a local food bank. Fans that submitted photos of their volunteer work received a T-shirt.

鈥淭he band members volunteered at their own local food banks on that day as well,鈥� Richardson said.

All Within My Hands partners with Feeding America, but the foundation works with a variety of organizations, Richardson said. The band is 鈥渧ery hands on鈥� in selecting nonprofits to work with that provide food, housing or protective services for people experiencing domestic violence, she said.

Volunteers are vital to operations at Feeding Southwest Virginia, Holden said. Since 2020, the pantry has seen a 629% increase in households seeking food assistance.

鈥淪tatistics tell us one out of every five children in Southwest Virginia has food insecurities,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat means that child doesn鈥檛 know where that next program is coming from 鈥� It鈥檚 so essential for us to be able to have support from volunteers as well as staff to put those programs together.鈥�

This Saturday is the in which residents can fill a sturdy bag of nonperishable foods next to their mailboxes to be picked up by letter carriers. The donated food is then distributed to local food agencies, including Feeding Southwest Virginia.

Feeding Southwest Virginia averages about 285 volunteers a month, he said. When people volunteer, whether it鈥檚 with quality assurance or with the nonprofit鈥檚 programs for children or seniors, it makes a difference.

鈥淭he food that is being processed today will be on somebody鈥檚 dining room table in the next seven to 10 days,鈥� Holden said.

Ted Doran is chapter head of Metallica fan club Virginia Fuel, local chapter #126. Established in 1998, he said that Virginia Fuel is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, existing Metallica fan club chapters.

Doran, who has seen Metallica live more than 30 times, drove four hours from Alexandria for the concert. Assisting with quality assurance at Feeding Southwest Virginia Wednesday morning was one of a few places that he was volunteering ahead of the show. Virginia Fuel organizes volunteer opportunities on its own, too, where members help with roadside cleanup or at other local food banks.

鈥淣ow that they鈥檝e branched more into the charity side of things, I鈥檝e really latched onto that,鈥� he said of the band. 鈥淚 do a lot of stuff with Ren茅e with All Within My Hands, and we started doing our own charity stuff too, raffles and things of that nature. It鈥檚 just a big community.鈥�

May is also Metallica鈥檚 Month of Giving. This year, local chapters are competing to raise funds for All Within My Hands鈥� Metallica Scholars Initiative Special Projects Fund, which funds workforce education programs at community colleges across the country, Richardson said.

Metallica fans are a 鈥渧ery inclusive crowd鈥� and everyone feels like family, Doran said.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how many hundreds of fan clubs there are, but the members have each come together based on proximity and a common love of Metallica鈥檚 music and camaraderie,鈥� Richardson said. 鈥淭he fan clubs are their own families in itself.鈥�