Chester Bennington's untimely death cut short a life marked not only by creative bravery, but by his desire to help others.

Bennington and his Linkin Park bandmates took the music world by storm with their 11-times platinum 2000 debut Hybrid Theory, and continued to bravely redefine and expand their sound on each of their successive six albums.

As we compiled the below year-by-year photo gallery of Bennington's 17 years in the public eye, it was impossible not to notice that a large portion of the pictures were taken at charity events, fundraising concerts, or even while he and the group were helping to rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina with their own hands.

Throughout his career, Bennington was an active supporter of charities such as MusiCares, Music for Relief, PETA and the GRAMMY Foundation. In 2013 he was honored with the Stevie Ray Vaughan award by MusiCares for both his commitment to helping addicts in their recovery process and his longstanding support for the MusiCares MAP Fund.

[We] will always remember Chester Bennington as a musical powerhouse and a powerful force for animal rights," PETA Vice President Colleen O'Brien declared in a statement issued the day of Bennington's death. "He bared his skin to help animals keep theirs in PETA’s 'Ink, Not Mink' campaign, and he spoke passionately about both the cruelty of the fur industry and the need to adopt homeless dogs and cats, telling PETA, 'We need to show our respect for all creatures of this world.' The world lost a kind heart today."

More From Diffuser.fm