About Sub City
Over 3 million dollars raised
In 1999 we at Hopeless Records got the crazy idea that if we gave artists and their fans the opportunity to connect their talent and passion with causes that were important to them we could make a positive impact through music. Sub City is run by the Hopeless Records team and we look to incorporate a charity component into as much of what we do as possible. At Sub City, we don't believe many peoples' misconception that our new generation is just lazy and avoiding real life issues such as getting "real jobs"; we believe artists and their fans are out changing the world by taking action. With your continued participation in our various fundraisers, tours, grants, releases and other events we are able to illustrate how we can all make a difference together regardless of age, race, socioeconomic status, gender identity, religion, physical ability, or any other factor.
projects
Songs That Saved My Life
Songs That Saved My Life is a brand centered around music that benefits mental health and suicide prevention charities. Everyone has music that helped them through a tough time. Songs That Saved My Life looks to engage current artists with cover versions of those songs and share those stories with the world. With four key initiatives - compilations and singles, videos, playlists, and merch - STSML focuses on diminishing the stigma around mental health and sharing the stories of how music has impacted our community. Some of the many mental health/ suicide prevention charities that Songs That Saved My Life is currently benefiting are:
Crisis Text Line
Hope For The Day
The Trevor Project
To Write Love On Her Arms
To learn more about STSML, check out the website here.
Sub City Studios
Sub City Studios is proud to support our local Los Angeles community. Working alongside New Directions for Youth, a dynamic non-profit in North Hollywood that serves high-risk youth and families, we have created a recording studio for youth to come and learn how to play instruments, how to write songs, and how the entire recording process works. Thanks to the generosity of donors such as Hopeless Records, Fender and SJC, this learning opportunity is free and open for the kids of our community
Cause of The Month
Each month, the Hopeless Records staff chooses a different charity to highlight and support. Fans are given the option to round up their purchases at checkout on the Hopeless web store to support that month’s Cause. Past Causes include Homeboy Industries, RAINN, and Brady’s Center To Prevent Gun Violence. Hopeless is proud to incorporate our Sub City charity initiatives in every foreseeable opportunity.
Sub City Grant
The Sub City Songs That Save My Life Grant ables artists and fans to partner up with 501C3 non-profit organizations to create an eligible campaign that benefits mental health and suicide prevention charities. Read about the previous grant winners below:
Sub City Grant Winners
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Half Access is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to making live music more accessible to the disabled community.
“The Sub City grant gave me the opportunity to turn my advocacy into an organized movement for change. It opened doors for me to find others who are equally as passionate about diversity and inclusion."-Cassie Wilson, Half Access
Half Access was founded by Cassie Wilson in Portland, OR in the spring of 2017 when Wilson was 18 years old. Wilson, now 20, is disabled and uses a wheelchair when attending concerts. After facing repeated discrimination at general admission venues for a few years, her frustration grew and she quickly realized nothing was going to change anytime soon. She turned that frustration into productive energy, and started Half Access. Soon after, she applied for the first ever, 2017 Sub City Alternative Press Music Awards Grant for $10,000 presented by Hopeless Records, and was the recipient of it. She accepted the award at the APMAs in July of 2017. Since then, Half Access has become an official 501(c)(3) non-profit.
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Find Your Anchor is a non-profit, grassroots movement aimed at suicide prevention, awareness and education. They create and send resource boxes filled with materials designed to inspire, sooth, and offer support to those struggling and contemplating suicide.
By providing ideas, support, and inspiration in each box, Find Your Anchor aims to remind everyone that there are people all over the country waiting to listen, that they're not alone, and that there is hope.
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The notOK App, created by siblings Hannah and Charlie Lucas, came from a simple thought: what if with a click, loved ones could immediately know someone wasn’t okay and come to help them? Acting as a digital panic button, the notOK App gives users the ability to get support from friends, family, or other close contacts by sending out a message saying “Hey, I’m not okay. Please call, text, or come check up on me” along with a link to the user’s current GPS location and directions. With over 83,000 users already, the notOK App works to provide support for suicide prevention and mental health awareness.
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ProjectQ is a non-profit organization founded by Madin Ray Lopez that helps LGBTQIA+ homeless youth navigate a world that perpetually tries to diminish them.
Their mission is to use hair and self-empowerment as a form of social justice. ProjectQ provides free gender affirming haircuts, self-empowering workshops, food & hygiene boxes, gender affirming clothing, chest binders, menstrual products, and so much more to LGBTQIA+ youth experiencing homelessness.
The grant will go towards crisis counseling training for the staff at ProjectQ, as well as funding an on-staff therapist to help the community they service receive mental health resources.
"Mental health stigma in the Black and brown community has kept us from maturing emotionally adding to the odds already stacked against us,” states founder & Executive Director Madin Ray Lopez. “These statistics skyrocket when intersecting LGBTQ+identities are added to one's plate. It is not our fault as queer people of color that we do not have access, but it will be our fault if we continue passing our trauma to the next generation. At ProjectQ, the buck stops with us. Thanks to this grant, we will be able to provide mental health services for the youth that we service, while also training our staff on crisis intervention."