--- title: Eddie Vedder Donates $10,000 to Needy Family on Christmas description: Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder donated $10,000 to a needy family after reading their heartbreaking Christmas story on Craigslist. canonical: https://time.com/4618379/eddie-vedder-craigslist-donation/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-27T17:48:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:39:44.819Z og:title: Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder Donates $10,000 to Needy Family og:description: "I was just so moved by the story" og:url: https://time.com/4618379/eddie-vedder-craigslist-donation/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7173e3077f029d82/6988b40a0a4a2299c69cc703/eddie-veder.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Global Citizen Festival 2016 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder Donates $10,000 to Needy Family twitter:description: "I was just so moved by the story" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7173e3077f029d82/6988b40a0a4a2299c69cc703/eddie-veder.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder Donates $10,000 to Needy Family on Christmas by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Dec 27, 2016 5:48 PM UTC  Eddie Vedder performs onstage at the 2016 Global Citizen Festival to End Extreme Poverty by 2030 at Central Park on Sept. 24, 2016. Eddie Vedder performs onstage at the 2016 Global Citizen Festival to End Extreme Poverty by 2030 at Central Park on Sept. 24, 2016.Michael Kovac—Getty Images by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Dec 27, 2016 5:48 PM UTC When Tyshika Britten posted a message on Craigslist saying her family was facing both an eviction and a [Christmas](http://time.com/4617409/parents-tell-kids-santa-not-real-prank/?xid=homepage) without presents for her five sons and infant daughter, she hoped someone would hear her plea for help. What she didn’t expect was for that person to be Eddie Vedder. “I’m trying my best,” wrote Britten, a 35-year-old hairstylist, according to the [_Washington Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/a-mothers-craiglist-plea-brings-her-kids-a-christmas-theyll-never-forget/2016/12/25/1a8a053c-cada-11e6-a747-d03044780a02%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.87b58d708d26)_._ “I pray everyday and now I’m begging for help. I know it’s not about the gifts, but they are kids! I’m such a failure right now . . . please help me.” Britten’s story quickly spread across the Internet, the _Post_ reports, eventually landing in front of [Pearl Jam](http://time.com/4298619/pearl-jam-north-carolina-concert/?iid=sr-link1)‘s frontman. Britten’s plea struck a chord with the singer, whose own family struggled to pay for Christmas toys, and he wrote a $10,000 check to help the family get back on their feet financially — and hopefully put at least a few presents underneath the Christmas tree. While Vedder’s band may have just been accepted into the [Rock and Roll Hall of Fame](http://time.com/4607692/tupac-shakur-pearl-jam-rock-hall-fame/?iid=sr-link2), Britten didn’t know who he was when the check arrived. “Is he in a band?” Britten asked, according to the _Post._ When she went to deposit the check, though, the bank teller looked at the amount and the name on the check and “his head dropped into his hands.” Vedder didn’t make the donation to earn a new fan, though. “I was just so moved by the story and what this mother did for her children,” Vedder told the _Post_ in an interview. “I thought those kids must be so proud of their mother for reaching out. That takes a lot of courage.” [Vedder](http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/07/09/pearl-jam-lets-superfan-create-the-best-set-list-ever/?iid=sr-link5) wasn’t the only one to bring some [Christmas](http://time.com/4617794/christmas-quotes-true-meaning/?xid=homepage) cheer to Britten’s family: Many who read the family’s story sent gifts, toys and clothing to help make sure the Britten family’s holiday was merry and bright. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4618379/eddie-vedder-craigslist-donation/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4618379/eddie-vedder-craigslist-donation/"},"headline":"Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder Donates $10,000 to Needy Family on Christmas","datePublished":"2016-12-27T17:48:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:39:44.819Z","description":"\"I was just so moved by the story\"","url":"https://time.com/4618379/eddie-vedder-craigslist-donation/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Music","Charity","christmas","holiday","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7173e3077f029d82/6988b40a0a4a2299c69cc703/eddie-veder.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7173e3077f029d82/6988b40a0a4a2299c69cc703/eddie-veder.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Global Citizen Festival 2016","caption":"Global Citizen Festival 2016","creditText":"Michael Kovac—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4618379/eddie-vedder-craigslist-donation/","name":"Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder Donates $10,000 to Needy Family on Christmas"}}]}] ```