ROB THOMAS AND MATCHBOX TWENTY GIFT NFT AUCTION PROCEEDS TO RADICAL HOPE AND MENTAL HEALTH

Band’s First Ever Non-fungible Token Auction, ‘Unwell' Dropped Thursday, April 1st Via Opensea.Io 

New York, N.Y. (April 2, 2021) - Rob Thomas and superstar band Matchbox Twenty have chosen RADical Hope as a charitable partner for the band’s first-ever non-fungible token (NFT) auction. RADical Hope is committed to breaking the grip of emotional isolation that is hurting so many young people. The Foundation was established in honor of Chris Martin, who died by suicide in 2017 while he was a junior in college. 

The auction of the multimedia, NFT token experience “Unwell”, dropped Thursday night, April 1st, at 8:20 EST on OpenSea.io during a live conversation on Clubhouse with Rob Thomas, Liz Feld, CEO of RADical Hope and Kevin Wong, Vice President of Communications at the Trevor Project. The Clubhouse was hosted by Jin Woo Yu aka WOLF x LION in the TALK NERDY TO ME club, with RADical Hope Honorary Chairman Larry Bossidy participating as a special guest. The auction will run through Tuesday, April 6th @ 8:20pm EST. To participate in the “UNWELL” auction, visit the OpenSea.io ‘Unwell’ auction page.

“What we're really talking about is the mental health of our future generations. Who we're going to be ten years from now depends on how we treat these people now," Rob Thomas said on Thursday evening. "I think the Trevor Project and RADical Hope are pinpointing a very, very huge group that we might lose, if we don't let them know how special they are and how normal they are. And so I just really, really think it's great to be a part of being able to have a voice to that."

“With this gift, Rob Thomas and Matchbox Twenty will help make the world well again for countless young people struggling with the everyday challenges of modern life,” said Liz Feld. “Sharing feelings of isolation and loneliness — in lyrics and conversation — is powerful medicine to those feeling profoundly powerless. For nearly twenty years, millions of listeners have identified with the message of 'Unwell'. This gift from Matchbox Twenty to RADical Hope will support our mission to break the grip of emotional and social isolation that is hurting so many young people today. We are so grateful."

"I want to start by thanking Rob for being generous,” Larry Bossidy shared. “We had a family tragedy... and as we looked at the research, following it, we concluded there was no program at the college Chris was attending. And it was so true in many other colleges as well. And yet at the same time, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse, etc, were surging. And we wanted to do something about it. And we wanted to found an organization that would get things done now."

The “Unwell” multimedia NFT includes:

• Non-commercial Licensing rights to the 27-second “Unwell” 1 of 1 multimedia experience;
• Non-commercial Licensing rights to High-Res digital images of the two original lyrics sheets, and
• The Rob Thomas signed proof of NFT as seen at the end of the “Unwell” NFT sheet of paper that Rob Thomas signs at the end of the video.

Matchbox Twenty partnered with DFND, a creative agency and technology company, to deliver the “Unwell” NFT. The auction will take place until Tuesday, April 6th, 2021 at 8:20pm EST. For more information, and to participate in the “Unwell” auction, please visit OpenSea.io ‘Unwell’ auction page.

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About Matchbox Twenty:

Matchbox Twenty is Kyle Cook, Paul Doucette, Rob Thomas and Brian Yale. The group has sold over 40 million records worldwide, and earned multiple chart-topping singles, countless accolades, including five GRAMMY® nominations, four American Music Award nods, and the 2004 People's Choice Award for "Favorite Musical Group." 

Fueled by such classic songs as “Real World,” “Back 2 Good” and the No. 1 smash hits “Push” and “3AM,” 1996’s RIAA Diamond-certified Yourself or Someone Like You proved a worldwide sensation and instantly established Matchbox as global superstars. 2000 saw the band release the four-times Platinum Mad Season, containing the No. 1 singles “Bent” and “If You’re Gone.” Matchbox’s third release, More Than You Think You Are, also was certified Platinum and featured the No. 1 hit, “Unwell.” 2007’s greatest hits compilation album with six new songs, Exile On Mainstream yielded yet another No. 1 track, “How Far We’ve Come,” while the band’s most recent album, 2012’s North, exploded into the top position on the Billboard 200 – Matchbox Twenty’s first-ever chart-topper and No. 1 debut.

About RADical Hope:

RADical Hope is committed to addressing America’s youth mental health crisis by building resilience in young lives. The Foundation works with proven, frontline engagement programs that deliver on its core priorities: connectivity, empowerment, emotional regulation, and engagement. It was established in 2018 by Pam and Phil Martin in honor of their son, Chris, who died by suicide during his junior year of college.

Last fall,  in partnership with New York University, RADical Hope developed RADical Health, a wellness program for college students to build resilience and support their own mental, physical and emotional health.  RADical Hope will scale RADical Health to campuses across the country with the aim of reaching one million students in the next two years. The Foundation has also made a multi-year investment in Bring Change 2 Mind (BC2M), a high school peer to peer program dedicated to encouraging dialogue about mental  health.  RADical Hope’s first investment was in PeaceLove, an expressive arts program that promotes mental wellness by using creativity and expression.