It was exactly this line of thinking that spurred Scottish merchandise manager, Scott Bradley, to suggest to the guys in Toto that they bag up and keep all of their unused hygiene products to donate to charity. On their 40 Trips Around The Sun European tour, the band collected hundreds of unused toiletry items from all of the hotel rooms they stayed in while on the road this past few months, and once the run had come to its conclusion, they donated them to the Glasgow East Women’s Aid organisation in support of women, children and young people affected by domestic abuse.
When Bradley brought up the plan, the band and crew thought it was a fantastic idea and quickly got on board, allowing a substantial amount to be collected and subsequently given to the charity. He went on to explain that he chose GEWA because “they do great work, and being a resident of the East end, I wanted to support a charity in my local community.” While the merch manager realises it’s not always logistically realistic for all touring bands, and refuses to take credit for the idea having heard of another colleague doing the same, he thinks it would be fantastic for other touring outfits to at least think about similar things they might be able to do along the way. The toiletries will be handed out to families who need basic survival assistance as part of GEWA’s mission.
Read more about the good work of the Glasgow East Women’s Aid here, and hear the car that plays Toto’s ‘Africa’ every time the door opens here.
