Marcus King Announces Auction for MusiCares and The Onsite Foundation During National Suicide Prevention Week

Marcus King is auctioning off a signed Gibson ES-335 guitar and an in-person guitar lesson in aid of MusiCares and The Onsite Foundation, in honour of National Suicide Prevention Week.

The auction is now live, and will close on September 26 at 5pm ET, with bidders able to donate via CharityBuzz. Both organisations chosen by Marcus King aim to help those struggling with mental health issues, with the South Carolina native having opened up in the past about his own experiences with these kinds of challenges.

Speaking ahead of the auction being opened, Marcus King underlined, “I have struggled with depression and anxiety my entire life, as do many others in the arts community and otherwise. Mental health often goes overlooked as it resides below the surface and shows itself when we are most vulnerable. My efforts go toward removing the stigma attached to mental health and speaking about it openly, while also making appropriate treatment more widely available to those who truly need it”.

The Onsite Foundation provides a variety of services and tools to those who have experienced trauma, such as counselling and mental health support to parents who have lost a child.

John Huie, an Onsite Foundation board-member, underlined, “Suicide is a hard reality we face every day. It’s a tragedy to lose a child and then society often forgets, as time passes, the trauma and intense grief of the family left behind. Our mission at The Onsite Foundation, through the Life after Loss Program, is to help parents who have lost a child navigate the pain and grief so they can carry on and honour the one who has passed”.

MusiCares, the second charity benefiting from Marcus King's auction, continues to offer a plethora of health, rehabilitation and monetary aid to those in the music industry. As part of its mission, MusiCares provides a range of services related to ‘counselling, psychiatric care, inpatient treatment, coaching, intensive outpatient care, sober living and more’.

Theresa Wolters, Vice President of Health & Human Services at MusiCares, emphasised the importance of mental health support for those working in music, “In the United States, one person dies by suicide every 11 minutes (CDC, 2022). Our MusiCares 2023 Wellness in Music Survey found that affordability and lack of insurance are barriers for many working in music when it comes to prioritising therapy and other mental health resources. We’re proud to support suicide prevention efforts for music professionals by providing emergency financial assistance to access mental health services, weekly support groups and ongoing education. To access support from MusiCares, please email musicaresrelief@musicares.org or please call 988 if you or a loved one need urgent help”.

You can donate to MusiCares and The Onsite Foundation by bidding on Marcus King's auction here.

For more on Marcus King, see below:

Featured photo by Laura Ord