Get Down with Music in Action

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If you love music, then “Music in Action” is a concert series that you won’t want to miss. In addition to the music that you’ll be able to enjoy, you’ll also be supporting quite an interesting cause. ProtestTunes.com has just announced the series of live shows that they’ll be putting on, starting with a kick-off performance at Echoplex in Silverlake, California that will take place on Thursday, July 12th.

Bands that have confirmed their attendance at this show include: Gilby Clarke (Guns N’ Roses Guitarist) Jill Sobule (Singer/Activist) Corey Parks (Nashville Pussy Bassist) Cody Marks (Singer/Songwriter) Zach Blair (Rise Against Guitarist) QBN Montana (Latin hip-hop DJ) And very special guests from Austin, Texas — English Teeth w/singer Elijah Ford.

Tickets will cost $25 and all proceeds will go directly to Jail Guitar Doors, founded in the US in 2009, and intended to help to rehabilitate prisons through music.

Wayne Kramer from the rock bank MC5 started Jail Guitar Doors in the US with singer-songwriter Billy Bragg. Kramer called their organization “the loudest charity on earth.” As singer-songwriter Jill Sobule explained,

“In prison, we always think of it as punishment. But we forget the rehabilitation and redemption.”

Taking his idea and turning it into action, co-founder of Jail Guitar Doors Wayne Kramer will now join with co-creator of ProtestTunes.com Adam McKay to create this new project.

“Music and activism have always gone hand in hand from Woody Guthrie to the Clash to Rage Against the Machine. With ProtestTunes.com, we’re hoping to provide some of the background score for a new age of civic involvement. Plus, it’s fun as hell and the tunes rock.”

As Wayne Kramer explained the joint project, “Adam McKay and his wife Shira Piven were JGD’s first board members and the first to step up to support justice reform. They are themselves artists and activists and they understand that there is a connection between our shared missions: A message of education, action and expression for social change. Now, let’s make some noise together.”

Duet Between Warren Buffet and Jon Bon Jovi for Charity

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The Forbes 400 Summit on Philanthropy got some surprise entertainment this week as Warren Buffet and Jon Bon Jovi joined together for a duet. The Berkshire Hathaway chairman pulled out his ukulele on Tuesday to sing Bette Midler’s song, “The Glory of Love.” Mr. Bon Jovi, when getting ready for the duet, admitted that, “I’m more nervous now than I’ve been on stadium stages.”

Their performance was intended to emphasize the main points of the private meeting about charitable giving. The lyrics began, “You’ve got to give a little…” Mr. Buffett, with a net worth estimated at $44 billion has encouraged many other wealthy families to give away most of their fortunes to charity.

Jon Bon Jovi, similarly, has done a great deal of charitable work. He heads the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation which offers food and affordable housing to the needy.

Elton John & Tennis Joining Together to Fight AIDS

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Smash Hit from 2010

If you enjoy tennis, Elton John or assisting foundations that combat AIDS, then you may just be in luck. On October 16th, the 20th annual night of Smash Hits tennis to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force at the Peterson Events Center in Pittsburgh.

In addition to the concert by Sir Elton John, there will be 43 Grand Slam singles championship player in attendance including Billie Jean King, Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf and Andy Roddick. As Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said when announcing the event this week at City Hall, “We’re really excited about this and we look forward to welcoming fans from all over the country and the world this October. It’s another opportunity for us to showcase our great city, specifically around a sports event. This is clearly a sports town.”

As World Team Tennis commissioner Ilana Kloss joked, “The most interesting thing you’ll see is Elton John playing tennis. He does play in a pro-celebrity set to kick off the evening. … He has a huge forehand, but I always joke with him, saying it’s a good thing he’s got a music career as a backup.”
After Elton John shows the audience his tennis moves, the event will include five sets of tennis: men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles.

Watch out for ticket sales starting July 16th. And seats are limited with a capacity of about 7000.

Bernadette Peters Announces Michael Wittenberg Center for Imagination

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bernadetteThe Michael Wittenberg Center for Imagination at the Center for Discovery was just announced by Bernadette Peters, The Center for Discovery and The Monderer Foundation. With CEO Patrick Dollard, Center for Discovery provides individuals with varying disabilities with educational, clinical, residential and social outlets and experiences.

As Bernadette Peters said,“The Center for Discovery has created a remarkable program–unique in the area–that supports the most severely disabled children and adults. Michael was deeply connected to the environment, good health, and the protection of all living creatures. With its focus on promoting wellness and health to expand life’s possibilities for a very vulnerable group of people, The Center for Discovery is the embodiment of Michael’s life passions.”

Carol Turchin Monderer, the CEO of The Monderer Foundation, said, “The Center for Discovery has one of the most current and innovative educational approaches distinguished by a philosophy that celebrates each individual’s abilities rather than his or her disabilities. The Monderer Foundation’s mission is to support multiply challenged children and adults. We are delighted to be involved in supporting The Center for Discovery.”

Patrick Dollard, Center for Discovery CEO, said, “We commend Bernadette Peters for her passion, and we thank her for lending her voice to support The Center for Discovery. Adults and children come here to learn of our responsibility to respect and care for ourselves, our families, our neighbors, our animals, and nature in all its forms. It is for these reasons that we name the heart of The Center for Discovery the ‘Michael Wittenberg Center for Imagination.’ The entire center gratefully acknowledges Bernadette Peters and The Monderer Foundation for their support of The Center for Discovery.”

 

Take Some, Give Some at the ATM

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In a brilliant new move in the UK, people who are at the cash machine can now donate money to charities while they are withdrawing for their own purposes.  More than 8000 cash machines on the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) group network are now able to accept donations. These donations can be as small as £1 and as large as £150 for eight specific charities.

RBS has put the figures in context, explaining that if only 1% of the people who make withdrawals included a £1 donation, they would be able to raise £6.5m a year.

This is actually just the first phase of what will be a massive government drive in the UK to boost charitable giving. The UK cash machine network plans to enable a hundred million cards to eventually be able to make donations through ATMs.

As Steve Lamshire, RBS senior community affairs manager explained, “Over 2bn ATM transactions were made in the UK last year; and 25% of those are made through our network, so it’s pretty obvious it is a regular part of most people’s daily lives. We know that finances are tight for many people, but if our customers do want to make a donation, we want to make the process as easy as possible for them.”

Making a donation will not get in the way of those who simply want to get to an ATM machine for cash and get out. The donations will either be a separate menu item at the ATM, or they will be a post-transaction option.

A Night at the Park with Ryan Zimmerman

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For a special night on the baseball field, nothing beat’s Ryan Zimmerman’s “A Night at the Park” charity. His third annual “A Night at the Park” event is coming soon on June 14th.  The event includes music, entertainment, food, drink and auctions and all proceeds benefit the ziMS Foundation, founded by Zimmerman in 2006.

In 1995, Ryan’s mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a chronic disease that affects the central nervous system and impacts nearly 400,000 Americans.  Understanding the impact of the disease in his own personal situation, Ryan founded the ziMS Foundation. Today, through public appearances and generous giving, he has worked tirelessly to “bring home a cure” for MS and to raise over $500,000 since 2006.

The “A Night at the Park” event includes a stage set-up behind home plate and a performance by Guster. Enjoy a great night for a great cause on June 14th from 6-10 pm at Nationals Park.

Charlie Sheen Tweets for Charity

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It’s hard to take anything that Charlie Sheen has to say these days too seriously, but the man does have 7 million followers on Twitter. So, when he tweets something out – people do seem to be listening. That’s why it was big news when he tweeted recently to his fans that he would be taking part in the charity event called DASH FOR DETECTION 5K Walk/Run for Pancreatic Cancer Research in Chicago. The event is intended to raise money for pancreatic cancer research and it will take place at Grant Park in Chicago this June.

Organized by the Rolfe Foundation, an organization which supports scientific research to improve the early detection tests for pancreatic cancer, the non-profit will be hosting the fundraiser with the Lustgarten Foundation.

In his support of the cause and the event on June 2, Charlie Sheen tweeted, “Hello Chicago!! I’ll be there to scoot… Walk or Run! Dash for detection for pancreatic cancer research…”

Perhaps Sheen can actually do some good for a change with his tweets for charity.

Delaware County Community Market Makes a Difference…One Egg at a Time

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Delaware County Community Market

It’s a match made in heaven that Delaware County Community Market has created.  Located at 222 E. William Street, the market owned by Rick Dinovo will offer patrons a way to buy their groceries and give back to their favorite charities at the same time.  When people come to the market to purchase their groceries, 75% of the money will go to the vendor; 5% will go to the market; and 20% will be given to a charity of the shopper’s choice.

As Bob Sullivan-Neer, the store manager said,

“You can buy your eggs and help out a charity at the same time.”

The market has registered with 90 charities for patrons, or patrons can submit a suggestion for a charity that isn’t on the list. Some of the more popular charities that people have contributed to so far include: the Common Ground Free Store, the Stratford Ecological Center and the Special Olympics.

Certainly, the plan is a lovely one for the community; but it also happens to be brilliant for business.  They’ve found that, since they started the charity initiative, sales at the market have been up 65% since last year.

To keep shoppers appraised of their fundraising efforts, the market has a website where customers can select their charitable organizations and watch how much shoppers have donated to date.  Shoppers can also indicate their charitable donations for tax return purposes.

Now that’s a way to keep shoppers coming back – and to do something great for those around you.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research

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Established in 2000, the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research was a way for famous actor Michael J. Fox to put his fortune to good use.  Having been diagnosed with Parkinson’s himself, the actor wanted to help others who were suffering from this disease.  Ultimately, its main aim is to find a cure for Parkinson’s through “an aggressively funded research agenda and to ensuring the development of improved therapies for those living with Parkinson's today.”  In addition, the foundation aims to provide patients with improved treatments as well as long-term, a cure for the disease.

Since its founding, the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research has put nearly $150 m into research for Parkinson’s as well as finding a cure and in the meantime, developing improved therapies for those with the disease.  The foundation believes its goal really is in reach if it gains enough support.

 

PAWS Chicago

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PAWS Chicago’s mission is to “end the killing of homeless pets.”  Founded nearly 15 years ago, it has led to the reduction of homeless pets being killed by half.  Indeed, in 1997 the figure for killing homeless pets was 42,000 and in 2006, it was already down to less than 20,000.  Clearly these statistics show that what PAWS Chicago is doing is working.  That is why its aim to create a city in which no homeless pets are killed seems realistic.   The organization finds homes for thousands of pets, through the Lincoln Park Adoption and Humane Center. In addition, it offers a clinic for free spaying and neutering for those families on low-incomes who have pets.