Post Malone donates guitar to raise money for Utah Honor Flight

Singer Post Malone donates guitar for auction to raise funds for Utah Honor Flight. Photo: Courtesy of the Cottonwood Heights PD

UTAH — Grammy-winning rapper and singer Post Malone has donated a signed guitar to the Honor Flight program, a non-profit organization that transports veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit their memorials at no cost to them.

Malone’s donation was announced by the Cottonwood Heights Police Department on Sept. 21. The guitar will be auctioned off to raise money for the Honor Flight program, which relies on donations to operate. The auction for Malone’s guitar will close on Wednesday, Oct. 18. Bids can be placed by emailing CHPDCharity@c.utah.gov. As of today, the current bid is $15,000.

“Chief Rob Russo from Cottonwood Heights Police Department is the one who got involved, and he asked me about six months ago what it would mean to our organization if he could make it [the donation] happen,” said Stephanie Harmon, director of the Utah Honor Flight program. “This is huge, not only for the money but also for the awareness, getting the word out, especially to our veterans. We need money to continue to provide this service to our veterans, but we also need the veterans.”

Malone is known for his support of veterans. In 2018, he donated a Bentley, asking his fans to donate $10 in a chance to win it, to the nonprofit Folds of Honor, an organization that provides educational scholarships to families of deceased and disabled veterans.

The Honor Flight program has transported over 280,000 veterans to Washington, D.C., since it was founded in 2005,  2,500 from Utah with 300-400 on the waiting list. The program is open to all veterans who served in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and those who are terminally ill.

“Until you experience an Honor Flight, you really can’t put into words what it does for you,” Harmon said. “We always talk about what it does for our veterans and thanking them for their service, but for those of us that haven’t served, it changes our lives as well to see what it does for our veterans.”