Pearl Jam Pays $70,000 To The Man Who Saved Eddie Vedder’s Life

Photo Credit: Alyssa Fried

Fans of Pearl Jam have always known the generosity and compassion of the members of the band, but now the rest of the world can know the extent of their kindness.

The group has reportedly donated $70,000 to the man who saved singer Eddie Vedder’s life nearly 15 years ago in a boating accident while sailing in Hawaii.

Ashley Baxter and her father Keith stumbled upon Vedder and two other boaters, who had been stranded in the water for nearly two hours after their boat was caught in a strong wind and capsized. The pair recovered the three who were stranded and continued on to rescue the remaining members of the group who were still on board the boat, which had been pushed out of their reach.

The incident went on to inspire the band to write the track “Future Days,” from their album Lighting Bolt back from 2013.

Flash forward three more years, and Vedder’s rescuer Keith Baxter fell victim to his own boating accident, nearly losing his leg in the process from a nasty bone infection. After bumping into his daughter, one of the rescued woman, Kacky Chamberlain, set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the cost of Baxter’s medical expenses, raising $70,000.

Chamberlain went on to inform Vedder of the accident, and the members of the band went on to match the donation with another $70,000, totaling in over $140,000 donated with one donation under the name “Stone Gossard”- guitarist for Pearl Jam.

This isn’t the only act of kindness by Vedder. Earlier this week, the Washington Post published an article on 35 year-old mother Tyshika Britten, who pleaded on craigslist for help to support her family of six, whom she was struggling to support off her paychecks as hairstylist. After the post on the family (who was close to being evicted during the holiday season) went viral, it caught Vedder’s attention. The singer stepped in and donated $10,000 of his own money, citing his own struggling family during his childhood as one of the reasons the story touched him so deeply.

“I was just so moved by the story and what this mother did for her children…There were years there were toys from Santa, but they were used and they came from garage sales and they didn’t always work.”

To contribute to Keith Baxter’s GoFundMe page, click here.