Super Bowl 53 halftime act Maroon 5, in collaboration with the NFL and Interscope Records, has made a $500,000 donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America ahead of Sunday's big game in Atlanta.
» RELATED: People have a lot of feelings about Maroon 5 performing at Atlanta's Super Bowl 53
The charity, headquartered in Florida, is one of the largest youth mentoring organizations in the country dedicated to serving children facing adversity.
"Playing the Super Bowl has been a dream of our band for a long time," pop band frontman Adam Levine told People magazine in a statement. "We thank the NFL for the opportunity and also to them, along with Interscope Records, for making this donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters, which will have a major impact for children across the country."
According to Billboard, Maroon 5 is the subject of a Change.org petition urging the band to drop out of the show "in solidarity with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his efforts to protest racial inequality in the U.S. by taking a knee."
The petitioner has asked all halftime acts—including rappers Travis Scott and Atlanta’s Big Boi—to #TakeAKnee during the event.
Scott, who joined the list of 2019 halftime performers after the NFL agreed to donate to a social justice cause, also made a joint donation of $500,000 to charity Dream Corps two weeks ago. The organization, founded by Van Jones, aims to transform the country’s criminal justice system and open doors of opportunity.
Both donations are part of the NFL’s #InspireChange social justice initiative.
Sunday’s Pepsi Halftime Show airs Sunday, February 3 on CBS.
