'Star Wars' Recognizes BTS Fan ARMY As Major Donors of Force For Change UNICEF Campaign

5/6/2018 by Tamar Herman

 Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images for dcp
BTS performs onstage during Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2018 on Dec. 31, 2017.

The Force is strong with BTS fans. Star Wars’ official Twitter account acknowledged this on Saturday (May 5) after the Korean act’s fans came out in major support of the franchise’s Force For Change UNICEF campaign last week.

While the Force For Change fundraiser began on May 3 to precede Star Wars Day and was expected to last through May 25, Star Wars’ pledge to donate up to $1 million USD was matched within two days thanks to the ferocious support from Star Wars and BTS fans alike.

“Thanks to fans from around the world & the BTS ARMY, we reached our maximum donation goal of $1M. Funds unlocked through this campaign will help UNICEF provide food packets to children suffering from malnutrition.”  

Star Wars Day is commemorated around the world by Star Wars fans on May 4, with the punny phrase “May the fourth be with you” spurring a wide range of celebrations.

BTS’ fans, known collectively as ARMY, have been immensely active in regards to fundraising on behalf of the band. The social media-oriented Force For Change campaign -- through which Star Wars would donate based on posts across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram featuring the hashtag of #RoarForChange -- played up to ARMYs strength as one of the most socially-active fandoms around. The band is nominated for their second Top Social Artist award at this year's Billboard Music Awards, which will air on May 20 and feature a performance from the Korean septet. 

BTS launched their own UNICEF campaign last year; the Love Yourself anti-violence campaign will continue throughout the band’s Love Yourself series, which will see a new addition on May 18 with the release of the album Love Yourself: Tear.

The meshing of fandom powers came about after George Pennacchio, a reporter with the Los Angeles ABC affiliate ABC 7 (KABC), asked ARMY to help support the social media-based fundraiser. ABC and Star Wars are both entities managed by Walt Disney Company subsidiaries.