Bon Jovi, VA & HUD launch mobile app contest to aid the homeless

By Paul Maziar

Today, the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation launched a mobile app developer challenge called Project REACH to aid the homeless and people facing economic challenges. The contest, in partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Health and Human Services (HHS), asks developers to create a free, easy-to-use web and smartphone app that will provide up-to-the minute information about available housing, health clinics and food banks for those in need.

Prizes for creating a winning app range from $10,000 for five finalists to $25,000 for the grand prize winner. The contest’s chief goal is to establish a nationwide program that will allow clinics, food kitchens, and shelters to update their available services in real-time online. The winning developer will feed the information to communities throughout the country. Five finalists will pilot their mobile applications at JBJ Soul Kitchen, a community restaurant in Bon Jovi’s home state of New Jersey where diners pay only what they can afford.

“At the Soul Kitchen we’ve seen the need for a simple, user-friendly, comprehensive application that connects those in need to resources in their community,” says Bon Jovi. “As we sought out a solution to resolve the disconnect, we found the VA, HUD and HHS to be of like mind. Together we can provide the information about existing services – now we need the bright minds in the developer community to create a platform to tie it all together.”

For more information about Project REACH (Real-time Electronic Access for Caregivers and Homeless) and to enter the competition, go here.

The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation combats issues that force families and individuals into economic despair. Through the funding and creation of programs and partnerships, it supports innovative community efforts to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness. To date, Jon Bon Jovi and the Soul Foundation have provided affordable housing for hundreds of low-income individuals and families. In December 2010, President Obama appointed Jon Bon Jovi to the White House Council for Community Solutions, which seeks to understand and assist vulnerable youth find pathways to success.

Arcade Fire and non-profit leaders discuss musician-cause collaborations at SXSW panel

By Laura Ferreiro

A fascinating panel at Austin’s SXSW Music Festival titled “Doing Good, Only Better” on Thursday brought together renowned musicians and members of the non-profit world to discuss how musicians can most effectively use their reach and influence to bring good into the world.

Arcade Fire’s Marika Anthony-Shaw discussed her band’s efforts to raise awareness about issues plaguing Haiti, and non-profit leaders and band managers talked about ways for musicians to get involved and actively engage their fans in good causes.

Shaw gave great insights into Arcade Fire’s efforts to support Partners in Health, a non-profit that provides medical services and support to Haiti’s poorest communities. She explained that Haiti is especially important to the band because her bandmate Regine Chassagne’s family emigrated from there. “Haiti had the first slave revolt but it remains one of the poorest countries in the world,” Shaw said. “When we got to reflect on it a couple of years ago, we thought it was important to give back. We found Partners In Health, an organization that gives free quality health care to the poor. So we’ve been using the $1 per ticket method – we give $1 for each ticket (Arcade Fire sells) to Partners in Health.”

Arcade Fire performed following their lecture on Haiti and service at the University of Texas

Shaw explained that they wanted to do more than throw money at the problem – they also wanted to raise awareness about the situation in Haiti and promote social justice among their fans around the world.

“We were wondering how we could start a conversation with our fans,” she said. “So we had sign-up sheets at shows and we trained volunteers at all our shows in social justice and human rights. The ripple effect has been incredible of starting that conversation five years ago – we now have 10,000 volunteers who start those conversations. Now we hear back from fans who run marathons and have fundraisers at schools to donate to Haiti. It’s become something beyond fan and band that we’re all connected to.”

Erin Potts, executive director of Air Traffic Control Education Fund, which serves as a resource for musicians and managers on activism, philanthropy and advocacy, pointed out that musicians have tremendous reach that goes far beyond the reach of a typical non-profit. She explained that bands who sign fans up at shows to become involved in cause-related projects are often reaching these people for the first time, which is significant because it means they’re able to connect with them in a unique way that wouldn’t have been possible without the musicians’ involvement.

Andy Bernstein, executive director of Head Count, which works with musicians to register voters at concerts, said that musicians have clout and credibility and are very effective at getting young people engaged. “We’ve worked with everyone from Pearl Jam to Dave Matthews to Jay-Z to register voters and bring these issues to the forefront,” he said. “Musicians have the unique power to bring social currency to the election.”

Mike Martinovich, who manages bands including My Morning Jacket and Flight of the Conchords, said that My Morning Jacket wanted to engage with their fans and find ways to support local non-profits around the country that are doing good work. As a result, they employed a system that gives $1 from every ticket fans purchase to their shows in a particular city to local non-profits, often focusing on arts education. They also invite the organizations to their shows to set up shop next to the band’s merch booth to give concert-goers information about their work.

After the panel, several members of Arcade Fire including Chassagne and Win Butler mingled with attendees and discussed their efforts in Haiti. They also gave a lecture at the University of Texas last night about their work in Haiti, and performed a few songs for the students.

SXSW “good” events to watch

Photo: Laura Ferreiro

By Laura Ferreiro

SXSW is in full swing, and thousands of people in the music, tech and film industries have descended upon Austin for the annual gathering. While the sheer number of noteworthy events is enough to make your head spin – approximately 3,000 bands from around the world will perform on stages all over the city – here are a few that have made our radar because they combine music and great causes.

Gram Parsons Foundation launch event Wed March 14

To celebrate the relaunch of the Gram Parsons Foundation, a non-profit that offers addiction and recovery services to artists and musicians and imparts prevention messages to kids, will hold a two-part bash at Hotel San Jose. The day party is free and open to the public (no wristbands or badges required), and features performances by Brendan Benson, Eric Burdon, Blitzen Trapper, Alberta Cross, Great Lake Swimmers, Jenny O and Poor Man (Christian and Casey from Fleet Foxes), and will be streamed live at VenueOne. In the evening there will be a VIP fundraiser with surprise guests and performers. Tickets can be purchased here. For more information, visit www.gramparsonsfoundation.org.

Warby Parker’s Citizens’ Circus March 13-14

This free, all-ages day party at the French Legation Museum combines entertainment from New York’s unique musical circus troupe with socially conscious organizations and companies that will be handing out literature and selling their wares. The event is sponsored by Rock the Vote, which works to engage and build political power for young people in the United States by working at the intersection of politics and popular culture.

It will feature performances by several artists including Big Deal, Father John Misty, La Sera, Dee Dee (Dum Dum Girls), Nikki Lane, Superhumanoids and more, as well as performances by Warby Parker’s Citizens’ Circus. The fun begins at 1 p.m each day. For more information and set times, go here.

KGSR brunches at the W Hotel benefitting Make-A-Wish Foundation

Austin radio station KGSR has the early-morning market cornered with brunches at the W Hotel March 14-17. For a $5 donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to children with life-threatening diseases, you get a breakfast snack and four hours of exclusive performances from artists including Tom Morello, Blitzen Trapper, Delta Spirit, Ben Kweller, M. Ward, James Mercer of the Shins, Keane, Nada Surf, Graffit 6 and more. It’s hard to beat a deal like this. Go here for more information and set times.

KCRW showcases

Los Angeles’ flagship NPR station KCRW will hold two official showcases with some of the great talent it has been touting over the airwaves. The non-profit, member funded station will feature artists including Alabama Shakes, Temper Trap, Willy Mason Band of Skulls, Honey Honey and Blood Orangeat its showcases March 14 and March 16. Go here for more information and set times.

Perez Hilton’s “One Night In Austin” SXSW party benefitting VH1 Save The Music Foundation

Perez Hilton will donate all the proceeds from his highly anticipated SXSW bash “One Night In Austin” on March 17 to the VH1 Save The Music Foundation to bolster music education in public schools.

This is the first time Hilton is selling tickets to the annual event, which will be held at the Austin Music Hall on Saturday, from 6 p.m.-2 a.m. Hilton is revealing the lineup day-by-day on his website leading up to the night. So far, The Ting Tings, Ed Sheeran, Cher Lloyd and Dev have been confirmed as performers.

Arcade Fire post-SXSW lecture on Haiti and service

Arcade Fire have announced that they will give a lecture titled “Hope, Haiti and Service” at the University of Texas at Austin on March 19.  According the University’s website, Win Butler, Regine Chassagne, Will Butler, and Marika Anthony-Shaw of the Montreal-based, Grammy Award-winning band will discuss the current socio-economic crisis in Haiti, and their own volunteer efforts in the region.

The band will also tout the non-profit organization Partners in Health, whose efforts to rebuild Haiti they’ve supported for years. It has also fueled serious speculation that Arcade Fire will make an appearance at SXSW.

And there’s more…

We’re also looking forward to catching The Parlotones, who just climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise awareness of violence against women and girls in Africa, and the Delta Spirit, who will be taking Invisible Children out on tour with them in support of its Kony 2012 campaign, at several official SXSW showcases and parties. Also, Fiona Apple, who performed at “Love and Haiti, Too: A Music Benefit” and has offered assistance to 826LA, a non-profit that supports young students with their creative writing and offers tutoring for English learners, will debut songs from her first new album since 2005’s “Extraordinary Machine.” She’ll be at the NPR showcase at Stubb’s on March 14 and will surely be popping up around town. Also, Columbian superstar Juanes will discuss his  charitable work for his own Mi Sangre Foundation and as a co-founder of the “Paz sin Fronteras” (Peace Without Borders) organization, which uses music to unite populaces regardless of political or geographic divides and advocate that all people are entitled to the basic human right of peace. He’ll participate in a Q & A at the Austin Convention Center, room 18ABC at 12:30 p.m. on Fri, March 16 before he performs that evening.

Lenny Kravitz partners with UNICEF in safe-water campaign

By Paul Maziar

As World Water Day approaches on March 22, four-time Grammy-Award-winning musician Lenny Kravitz has teamed up with UNICEF to help raise awareness about the supreme importance of clean water and adequate sanitation. It is a harrowing fact that nearly 900 million people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water, and with the modern implementation of social networking, influential spokespeople like Kravitz are doing their part to spread the word through viral social media channels like Facebook and Twitter.

“Water is the essence of life — it all begins with water,” says Kravitz. “And at the very least, everybody in the world should have access to clean water. To be able to drink, to be able to clean themselves, have proper hygiene.” His plan is to utilize these social networking outlets to launch a series of public service announcements, with the hope that they will go viral.

In this endeavor, UNICEF’s Tap Project and Kravitz will be asking for a $1 donation for each glass of tap water you drink from March 19 – 25, during World Water Week. As the Tap Project website explains, every donated dollar can help provide a child with safe water for 40 days.

According to UNICEF figures, approximately 4,000 children die of water-related diseases every day. Safe water not only quenches thirst, but it also prevents debilitating diseases like blinding trachoma, an infectious eye disease which has become the world’s leading cause of preventable blindness. It also prevents life-threatening waterborne diseases that cause approximately 1.8 million deaths each year.

Since 1990, UNICEF has helped more than 2 billion people gain access to improved drinking water sources and 1.8 billion people gain access to improved sanitation facilities.

“For 780 million people, water is a luxury,” Kravitz says in his first announcement. “It’s a human right.” To learn more about the Tap Project, where the donated money goes and how you can volunteer, visit http://www.tapproject.org/.

 

Perez Hilton’s “One Night In Austin” SXSW party to benefit VH1 Save The Music Foundation

Perez Hilton has announced that all of the proceeds from his highly anticipated SXSW bash “One Night In Austin” will go to the VH1 Save The Music Foundation to bolster music education in public schools.

This is the first time Hilton is selling tickets to the annual event, which will be held at the Austin Music Hall on Saturday, March 17 from 6 p.m.-2 a.m. Hilton is revealing the lineup day-by-day on his website leading up to the night. So far, The Ting Tings, Ed Sheeran, Cher Lloyd and Dev have been confirmed as performers. Previous headliners have included Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Kanye West and N.E.R.D.

“Music is the answer!” Hilton said in a statement. “For the first time ever, I am going to be selling tickets to my annual SXSW event! These tickets will guarantee entrance to what is always the hottest party in all of Austin. This year, I have decided to donate all of the money raised through ticket sales to The VH1 Save The Music Foundation. It combines two things I am passionate about – music and inspiring youth. I can’t wait!”

The VH1 Save The Music Foundation works to restore music education programs in America’s public schools and raise awareness of the benefits of music instruction as part of a complete education.

Musicians light up social media in support of Invisible Children’s Kony 2012 campaign

By Laura Ferreiro

A name that was unfamiliar to many Americans just a few days ago is now on the tips of millions of tongues thanks to a wide-reaching social media and awareness campaign launched by non-profit organization Invisible Children. Millions of people are learning more about Joseph Kony, the Ugandan guerilla group leader who has been accused of crimes against humanity.

Invisible Children has urged musicians and celebrities to get the word out about its campaign, Kony 2012, and the atrocities committed by Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army, which has forcibly recruited thousands of children as soldiers. They reportedly force children to kill their own parents and physically mutilate and rape their victims.

Rihanna, Roots band leader Questlove, Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz, Zooey Deschanel and Russell Brand are among the thousands of people who have been Tweeting about it and promoting the powerful Kony 2012 video, which has gotten millions of views in the past two days.

Invisible Children is also calling on people it dubs “culture makers” including Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey, Mark Zuckerberg, Jay-Z, George Clooney and Bono to help spread the word about the campaign. Its goal is to facilitate the arrest of Kony “so that he can be tried by the International Criminal Court as a precedent for future war criminals…and for the world to unite to see him arrested and prosecuted for his crimes against humanity.”

Here are some of the Tweets that have been flying fast and furiously the past few hours:

Questlove: “normally im all jokes n spaghetti like the next guy on twitter. but THIS is NO joke:http://t.co/ATjFPqih #StopKony#MakeKonyFamous WATCH!”

Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz: “RT to help #stopkony http://t.co/7lE1ehvV#kony2012 INVISIBLE CHILDREN”

Ryan Seacrest: “Was going to sleep last night and saw ur tweets about #StopKony…watched in bed, was blown away. If u haven’t seen yet http://t.co/oQvl8ys9”

P Diddy: “You must all see this!!!! NOW if u dont know what #StopKONY2012 is about watch this (cont) http://tl.gd/gaabmk rt to da world!”

Deadmau5: “Back from not being online for 10 seconds to create awareness towards the arrest of Joseph Kony and swift justice to all those affected.”

Click here to learn more about Invisible Children and how to get involved.

Kanye West, Rihanna to headline Make It Right benefit to build homes in New Orleans

By Laura Ferreiro

In an effort to raise funds for the completion of 150 environmentally friendly homes in New Orleans, heavy hitters including Kanye West, Seal, Snoop Dogg and Rihanna are set to perform at “A Night to Make It Right” in support of the non-profit of the same name. The two-part event, which will be held March 10 at the Hyatt Regency in New Orleans, supports the Make It Right Foundation, which was founded by Brad Pitt in 2007 following Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of New Orleans in an effort to build safe, green, affordable homes in the region.

Ellen DeGeneres will host the event, which will also feature performances by Sheryl Crow, Dr. John and New Orleans’ own Preservation Hall Jazz Band. What’s more, the Voodoo Experience, which puts on the annual Nola music festival, is giving away tickets to the star-studded after party featuring West and Snoop Dogg and hosted by comedian Aziz Ansari. They’re even giving away tickets here.

A green home built on "stilts" in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward

Since its inception, Make It Right has worked with cutting-edge designers to build unique homes on “stilts” that are high enough off the ground to avoid floodwaters should another hurricane occur. It is helping to revitalize New Orleans and the Lower Ninth Ward in particular, which was one of the hardest-hit areas when Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast in 2005. It has been slow to recover and still has only one-third of its pre-Katrina population.

“After Hurricane Katrina, many people said the Lower Ninth Ward could not be rebuilt, but the spirit of the Lower Ninth and its residents is vibrant and resilient,” Pitt said in a statement. “Today, the neighborhood is growing and alive with new homes, playgrounds, gardens and block parties.”

Visit Make It Right to learn more and find out how to get involved.

Amy Winehouse Foundation offers full music scholarship

By Paul Maziar

On September 14 of last year, what would’ve been Amy Winehouse’s 28th birthday, her family launched the Amy Winehouse Foundation in her memory. With Winehouse’s tragic passing by alcohol poisoning less than a year ago, the need for such an institution that aids young people in need is palpable. “The Amy Winehouse Foundation has been set up in Amy’s memory to support charitable activities in both the UK and abroad that provide help, support or care for young people, especially those who are in need by reason of ill health, disability, financial disadvantage or addiction,” states Amy’s dad, Mitch Winehouse.

Just a few months after its establishment, The Amy Winehouse Foundation has announced the funding of a full music scholarship to one of the UK’s most revered theater schools: The Sylvia Young Theatre School. Winehouse got her start at Sylvia Young at the age of 13, wowing everyone when she auditioned with “On the Sunny Side of the Street.” Her album, “Back to Black,” currently stands as the UK’s second-best selling album of the 21st century.

The scholarship is geared toward those with aforementioned financial woe, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend the esteemed school. The end-date for applicants is April 12, and the first round of auditions will take place on April 21-22. For more information, visit the Amy Winehouse Foundation website.

Arcade Fire to lecture at University of Texas on “Hope, Haiti & Service” the day after SXSW

By Laura Ferreiro

Arcade Fire have announced that they will give a lecture titled “Hope, Haiti and Service” at the University of Texas at Austin on March 19.  According the University’s website, Win Butler, Regine Chassagne, Will Butler, and Marika Anthony-Shaw of the Montreal-based, Grammy Award-winning band will discuss the current socio-economic crisis in Haiti, and their own volunteer efforts in the region.

The band will also tout the non-profit organization Partners in Health, whose efforts to rebuild Haiti they’ve supported for years. Arcade Fire and Chassagne in particular have been outspoken advocates for the troubled country.  The Canadian singer’s family immigrated from Haiti, and she wrote a moving editorial at The Observer asking that the West not abandon Haiti but instead “treat Haiti with compassion and respect and (to) make sure that the country gets back on its feet” following the massive earthquake that struck the country in 2010.

Arcade Fire’s lecture in Austin just a day after SXSW is fueling speculation that the band may make a surprise appearance at the festival.

 

Gram Parsons’ daughter offers aid to ailing musicians, relaunches Foundation at SXSW

Polly Parsons (credit: John Anderson)

By Laura Ferreiro

Polly Parsons was just 7 years old when her father, singer Gram Parsons, died of a drug and alcohol overdose at the age of 26. Her father was in the prime of his life and musical career, working with the Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers and as a groundbreaking solo artist when he fatally mixed tequila and morphine at a Joshua Tree hotel in 1973.

In an effort to help artists like her father, Parsons founded the Gram Parsons Foundation, which supports artists and musicians worldwide with addiction recovery services. “I feel like if there had been a group of people back then who had seen the damage of so much beautiful music and art lost to such addiction, and if he’d had like-minds guide him through recovery or give him resources, perhaps (my father) would be alive today,” Parsons tells Music for Good.

The Foundation originally began in 2004 with a tribute to Gram featuring his close friend, Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. It raised nearly $100,000 for MusiCares, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences foundation that aids musicians in crisis.

The Gram Parsons Foundation has been lying dormant for several years, but impassioned letters from fans and supporters inspired Parsons to relaunch it and, serving as its president, reinvigorate the Foundation’s efforts to fund these vital recovery programs.

“They are a very under-cared for population,” says Parsons of artists and musicians who suffer from addiction and alcoholism. “There’s a lot of stigma around the fact that your full-time job is around a bar. Part of their culture is around that workspace. It’s really necessary to give resources and support to these musicians and artists who don’t necessarily have the resources they need to get this support.”

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