The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund, the charity founded in memory of the late rock singer, has been presented with a surprise donation raised by attendees of the 2014 Getaway Rock Festival held in Gävle, Sweden last summer. Representatives of the Festival-at which Slayer, Volbeat, Dimmu Borgir, Steel Panther, Airbourne, Paul Di’Anno and 50 other bands performed on three stages during the event-recently contacted Dio Cancer Fund President Wendy Dio to present the donation of $20,133.13.

The Getaway Rock Festival, held August 7-9, 2014, introduced a cashless payment system for the first time in its five-year history whereby attendees used cash and credit cards to load funds onto RFID chips attached to their Festival wristbands. The chips were then used to pay for purchases during the festival’s run. At the conclusion of the three days, participants were given the choice of receiving a refund of any remaining funds contained in their chips or donating that balance to the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund. The donation is the result of attendees opting to donate the money remaining on their chips to further the Fund’s important work.

“I cannot thank the organizers of the Getaway Rock Festival and all the wonderful fans enough for making this donation possible,” says Wendy Dio. “It came as such a wonderful surprise, and every penny will go to cancer research so that one day we will find a cure for this terrible disease that takes so many of our loved one’s lives. Ronnie would be so proud of you all.”

The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund is a privately funded 501C3 charity organization dedicated to cancer prevention, research and education and is committed to raising money and awareness in hope of one day finding a cure for this dreaded disease. Ronnie James Dio, the world-renowned voice of Dio, Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Heaven & Hell, died on May 16, 2010 of gastric cancer. A series of events to commemorate the fifth anniversary of his passing are in the planning stages for May, 2015.