By Elizabeth Willoughby on
Music icon Neil Young received the Person of the Year award last month from MusiCares, not only for his artistic accomplishments, but also for his philanthropic work.
Young is a long-time supporter of MusiCares, which has been in existence for 20 years, providing assistance to musicians in financial, medical and personal need. Proceeds from last month’s gala will go towards the charity’s emergency financial assistance and addiction recovery programs.
“Well, it’s a great cause,” said Young, “and the money that we make here tonight goes to a really good place. It goes to helping musicians that are less fortunate and that have come upon hard times and don’t have health care and are living in the real world,” reported BBC.
Young’s music has been an inspiration to generations of musicians, many of whom performed at the gala, such as Elton John, Jackson Browne and Sheryl Crow. His charitable work also received glowing recognition by his peers.
Country singer Dwight Yoakam said, "Neil Young, along with Willie Nelson, has done enormous work for the farmers of America and North America. And they’ve done it in some ways thanklessly, for many, many years. There would be a lot of people’s lives who would not be as well off as they are without MusiCares. I’m proud to have participated in the small way that I have over the years and I’m glad the organization is still here given the current tough economic times."
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