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This is a guest post written by Adriana Mistick, a junior at Wheaton College. She also happens to be my sister! This past summer she had the incredible opportunity to go volunteer with Mama Lucy at Sheperds Junior School in Arusha, Tanzania. This is her story.

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Addy and the students from Sheperds Junior School, Summer 2011

I’ve sat down to write about my summer in Tanzania so many times without ever being able to find the words or the descriptions that are just right. I’ve decided now that it was one of those experiences I will never fully be able t explain or attempt to show with photos because what I really want is for everyone to be able to go and experience it for themselves.

It was early this year when I decided I wanted to do something different for the summer. I was about halfway through college at that point and had been lucky enough to take some time off early in college to help me get my head on straight. Now I guess you could say I’m focused. On what, you ask? Water and teaching kids, or teaching anyone I can, about water and our environment. I’m a self-proclaimed “water junkie”. Thinking about my summer and not knowing where to start, my sister Sloane (maybe you guys know her??) was eager to help me find a good match in terms of location and program. The moment I told her what I was thinking she had something perfect in mind but still worked wonders by facebooking, tweeting and emailing a personal ad for her baby sis.

EPIC CHANGE. That’s where Sloane’s mind was from the start and from the moment she first told me about meeting Stacey Monk at a conference and following their progress, that’s where my mind was too.

Epic Change has worked to raise money for a school in Arusha, Tanzania called the Shepherds Junior School. They have done this through various campaigns like TweetsGiving, To Mama With Love and even more recently were able to bring two of the star students, Gideon and Leah, from the first graduating class of 7th graders all the way to America to tell their story across the country.

The school itself, Shepherds Junior School, was started by a woman named Mama Lucy, the most inspiring woman I have ever had the pleasure to meet. Sloane connected me to Stacey, Stacey to Mama Lucy, and then Mama and I had a brief email exchange before deciding that I was coming to live in Arusha for two months to work at the school. Even luckier than just being connected to this incredible woman was that my college thought it was a great idea too and awarded me the Davis International Fellowship, which came with a hefty grant, that made it possible for me to go. My favorite perk of the fellowship has been telling my story at different events and presentations on campus this year.

Each interview goes a little bit differently because there is so much that I want to say. My favorite questions are along the lines of, “What surprised you most about being there?” or “What is the most important thing you left with?”, “Did the experience change your thinking about the future?”

And my responses go like this:

They have some of the best smiles I have ever seen, you know those smiles you can see in their eyes. They truly hung on my every word and would spend break times coming up to me and asking more and more questions about anything. “What is the deepest lake in America?” or “Is there HIV/AIDS in America?” and “What is your favorite food in Tanzania/America and why?” to “How does the rain fall?” and “How does water become a cloud?” – without me even prompting them. I’ll be honest, the questions about the deepest lake in America or how many national parks we have I actually had to look up and come back with the answers another day. The have an undying thirst for knowledge, unlike I’ve ever seen it before.

In terms of changing my thinking about my future and the world’s future it comes down to one word, HOPE. It can be easy to feel defeated by many news stories and through studying climate change and listening to seemingly endless debates in politics that leave us with no real answers or solutions but seeing and working with the people at the school and the children there inspired me and gave me hope. It reminded me that people are stronger than we think and often times deserve more credit. The teachers at that school give up almost all of their time, even weekends, to teach and help those kids. Many of them go home in the afternoon when school gets out and will go to visit children in their village that don’t get to go to school and will tutor them, for free, from home. Knowing that there are people that committed to the future help me to believe that the future is going to be a good place. Those children at Shepherds Junior School, dreaming of becoming astronauts, doctors or teachers, I believe that they can do it. I know that if those children succeed, they will honestly make our world a far better place than we ever could have expected.

For my future, I now feel that I, myself, can make a difference. One person alone can be powerful, and change making. One person can start a school from nothing. One person can inspire hundreds or thousands of more people.

I am now one of the many inspired by Mama Lucy, Stacey Monk and Sloane Berrent. And that’s why this year I am thankful for the places I have been, the things that I have seen and most importantly the PEOPLE that I have met.

Asante sana,
Addy

Photo courtesy of Taylor Davidson

Through the years I’ve visited a great many more, including most of the parks in the West. All special, all wonderful. However for the last year and a half, the one I’ve been lucky enough to visit again and again is Shenandoah National Park. Taylor’s parents live at the base of the park just about Luray, Virginia – and it’s the most amazing getaway. We go and hike every day, kayak on the river, cook dinner every night, and sit on the back deck listening to the creek and on occasion watching the “light show” – the thunder and lightening storms that are so perfect to watch in the wilderness of the East Coast.

My favorite part? Using our National Park Pass. This trip ours had expired and it wasn’t even a second thought at the front gate of the Shenandoah’s that we would buy another. The pass is $80 annually. Some parks charge $30 for a 3/day pass, so if you want to get technical, it’s “worth it” after only a couple of visits.

But it’s well beyond worth it even if you just visited a park once a year. The National Park system is part of my American dream. Preservation and protection to forests and the animals that live in them. When we visit, it’s always a mystery what wildlife we’ll see and that’s part of the fun! And usually something comes over me at some point and I just stop at a big tree, wrap my arms around it and SQUEEZE.

When’s the last time you felt that passionate about nature? It’s really an incredible feeling!

It’s so easy to buy a park pass, for more info look HERE. Looking forward to seeing you on the trails!

I wanted to share a recent project I worked on that I’m really proud of with an awesome client, The Grammy’s! Many award shows are just about that ONE night. The Grammy’s have made an effort the past two years to showcase events leading up to The Grammys that are relevant to those in the music community. This year, I worked with SocialPeople on digital strategy and blogger outreach to promote an invite-only event called Show Me The Green Light: A Conversation About Greening The Music Industry.

Between spending five years in LA (lord I miss that place), working and heavily volunteering in the green space, I had a huge list of names of friends, contacts and peers I wanted to invite to the event. I would have attended myself but I had a previous commitment to be in New Orleans last weekend and hard as I try, I just can’t be in two places at once!

I was thrilled to see so many blogs posts, tweets and status updates about the event. I am really excited when my digital work comes together with my passion for sustainability..and music!

Here’s an excerpt from the official press release:

The Recording Academy will partner with Waste Management — the official recycling partner of The Academy and 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards — to present Show Me The Green Light: A Conversation About Greening The Music Industry as part of GRAMMY Week. The event will focus on the incorporation of a reduce, reuse and recycle philosophy and its emerging presence in an ever-changing industrial climate.

At the celebration of The Recording Academy’s 50 years as the most recognizable brand in music in 2008 — the GRAMMY Awards — the organization set a goal for the next 50 years to have a positive cultural and social impact, with a focus on its environmental impact.

This year The Academy is working to balance its carbon footprint during the production of the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center in Los Angeles For example, we have been balancing our carbon footprint during the production of the GRAMMY Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles through the purchase of solar and wind power, and investing in sustainable energy initiatives through the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, an entrepreneurial nonprofit that creates and markets innovative solutions to energy and water issues.

Waste Management — the official recycling partner of The Recording Academy and 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards — has strengthened The Academy’s green initiatives by providing recycling receptacles at the GRAMMY Celebration, The Academy’s official after-party, which will divert an average of 6 tons of waste from landfills. Additionally, the Natural Resources Defense Council has provided consultation to determine the best greening practices for The Academy, both during the annual GRAMMY Awards and throughout the year.

Made out of recycled plastic water bottles, the GRAMMY red carpet has lived a second, third and fourth life over the course of the last few years. As a result, The Academy has diverted thousands of bottles from landfills (where they would have lived lesser lives, never having touched the soles of music elites).

Almost a billion people on the planet live without access to safe drinking water. Maybe you run a nonprofit that focuses on international access to water, maybe you’re a cause-based blogger, maybe you have heard of organizations like charity:water and water.org but haven’t known what you could do to pitch in and help their cause. Now is your chance to get involved!

Thousands of bloggers are joining together this Friday, October 15th, for Blog Action Day in a unified front to discuss the impact of water. Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day. By creating a tidal wave on one unified day, sponsor change.org hopes to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion around an important issue that impacts everyone worldwide.

Why should you get involved? Besides of course that it’s an important global topic, this is a great opportunity to network with other bloggers, nonprofits and activists. Many nonprofits tell us here at WhatGives that you’re looking to join the conversation but don’t have a lot of time. Or that you are looking for others in your space but had limited time and resources to find who the big players are in your space.

Blog Action Day is one of those easy, low-hanging-fruit opportunities to get out there, and blog about water issues. Since access to clean drinking water affects all of us, I encourage you to find a way to make it fit your mission and join this initiative. Much of the cause-based conversation online on Friday will circle around water, and what better opportunity to add your voice to the mix.

Past years have driven ideas, advice, plans, and action to important causes. 2007′s theme was the environment, 2008 was poverty, and last year the conversation was around climate change.

According to Blog Action Day, less than 1% of all fresh water is readily accessible for direct human use, representing only 0.007% of all water on earth. As the final push of encouragement to join this movement, here are five things about water you may not have known:

• Unsafe drinking water and lack of sanitation kills more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.
• More people have access to a cell phone than to a toilet.
• Every day, women and children in Africa walk a combined total of 109 million hours to get water.
• It takes 6.3 gallons of water to produce just one hamburger.
• The average American uses 159 gallons of water every day – more than 15 times the average person in the developing world.

More more information, Water.org just put together a resource guide for Blog Action Day 2010 bloggers providing a base for information and education around water access in the developing world.

Ready to take action? Register your blog, sign the petition, start a fundraising campaign and/or grab an action widget, and get ready for an amazing day of blog activism.

This blog post was originally published on WhatGives!?

Dangling Feet, Kerala; Courtesy of Taylor Davidson on Flickr

Shocking: The floods in Pakistan are affecting more than six times the number of people affected by the Haiti earthquake. I’ve been looking for ways to give back to help Pakistan. Where to give, where to donate, where to direct people and I came across a few great lists and posts, especially one from The Women’s Conference blog. There is a lot of dialogue about why more people haven’t stepped up to help Pakistan, especially this article from the BBC which points to everything from the media portrayal of Pakistan to threats of terrorism. But let’s be honest, people hurting need the help of those who have the ability to help. Those who are displaced have nothing. Think about what hardship they are certainly experiencing and then please consider taking a moment to donate what you can or help spread the word.

The flooding – which has now affected 20 million people, 8 million of whom need urgent aid washed away infrastructure and has since destroyed much of the country’s farming industry – which employs almost half of the country’s workers.

Pakistan needs our help. Here’s a few ways as to how:

UNICEF: 6 million children have been affected by the floods. Help UNICEF provide them with water, food and medical services.

Red Cross: Red Cross is on the ground, providing relief supplies, mobilizing relief workers and providing financial resources to those in need.

Save the Children: Save the Children is rushing essential supplies to children and their families.

Oxfam: Oxfam is providing hygiene, household and clean up kits to families in Pakistan.

Here are two ways to donate via texting:

• Text “swat” to 50555 — this sends a $10 donation to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees that will go toward providing tents, food, clothing, and clean water. (Reply with “yes” to confirm the gift.)
• Text FLOODS to 864233 — this helps get relief DIRECTLY to the CHILDREN of Pakistan by sending a $10 donation to UNICEF.

Find more ways to contribute on Yahoo and also on Tonic.

I am sixty-one years old, have never done one blog, computer search or even gotten on line at all – My children and grand children are however fluid while using their computers. I don’t even own one.

I’m not signing my name because I am thousands that live on the Gulf Coast – we have lived here for 10 generations — our lives, all our memories, our recreation, our baptisms, our first kisses, our most intimate moments, our loved ones ashes and our income have always revolved around the Gulf of Mexico – we have never taken her for granted – with our husbands she has been “the other woman”, with our children jumping the “biggest waves” has been an age old right of passage, our luxury saving for a week on the gulf in the summer or a month on the Gulf in the winter at Christmas.

We have held hands walking down the beach at the brink of divorce, the budding of new love, the devastation of death and disease — and the Gulf, she allowed us to breathe in new breath and start again with new perspectives. This oil spill has devastated us.

Also, each of us – every family lives on some sort of inlet, the bay and on the creek – now our front yards are no longer a place of entertainment or consultation — no swimming, no skiing, no wake boarding, no tubing, no fishing, no days playing in the water with cousins by the dozens while our 90 year old plus grandparents watch with wonder and are occasionally dipped into the water or navigated by strong healthy grandsons in to our small ski boat to see the growth that is happening since they skied and fished these waters. Now no one can even breathe well when the wind blows a certain way. So some days we cannot even sit on the deck — the dock is totally out of bounds!

The Fourth of July – I can’t even imagine what it will be as I look out my back porch window – in the yard sits an above ground blue plastic pool – the flags that usually line the shore now line the back walk ways – the “pool” 15’ feet round by 3’ tall – only the smallest grandchildren can even get wet. While our normal Fourth of July – for generations – has been a family reunion – in the water swimming and skiing, hot dogs and hamburgers on the deck, watermelon on the dock – and the Fourth of July boat parade where everyone decorated their boat with everything red, white and blue and palmettos, reeds and with fishing net too. Then we form a parade from creek to creek culminating into an exorbitant fireworks display, each family spending a minimum of $150 on fireworks – no maximum has ever been determined (this year is bound to have an economic effect on out little seasonal fireworks stands in the area).

One of my children’s families owns a 4 generational business, a very well known bar and grill on the bay – a gathering place for tourists and locals alike – they are now operating well below 20% of their normal income at this time of the year – this business supports at least 12 families that can no longer pay their bills – this multi generational business so in grained in our community it hosts several fundraisers every year – its location surrounded by water is perfect to lure a very large crowd with big enough hearts and pockets to support them generously – now what effect will this have on those organizations.

My husband owns a second generation business – a boat marina – one of the best known in our area for repairs and sales, it is operating at almost 20% at its normal income 5 families are supported by this marina and lay offs are eminent – not to mention the dream of making it to 3 generations is becoming impossible – even though our oldest grandson has spent every summer since he was 10 years old (he’s 15 now) learning how to repair our board motors and run the business – and completely erases the dreams our other grandson has of following in his cousins footsteps in two years when he turns 10.

Another lifelong dream was finally realized when another one of my children completed a 3 year long renovation of a very large sailboat – they sold everything in order to live aboard this beautiful sea worthy vessel to travel the Gulf waters from the Louisiana coast down past the Florida Keys and every inlet in between. They put it in the water at their slip in February of this year – its June this area is now uninhabitable – the passageways closed – the Gulf filled with oil – their new adventure halted – their lives drastically altered.

Our family – we have survived damn near everything in tact: holding hands, praying, celebrating playing and looking forward with hope. This oil spill – the slow response to stopping the leak, the chemicals dispersed, the conflicting information, the fear of long term effects, watching the dolphins gather in the back of the smallest creeks in order to breathe, the schools of fish and minnows swimming slower (some upside down) dogs that still swim in the bay no longer have fleas and the sand has an orange tint right at the waters edge, businesses closing, boats with for sale sign on them on too many corners.

The Gulf Coast usually bustling, the traffic unbearable, the song of laughter from the sunny beaches – is no longer present. Hope is beginning to also be a feeling of the past. I believe from now on our live will be defined by referring to life as before the BP oil spill and after the BP oil spill. Kind of like this generation refers to life as before 9/11 and after 9/11 and how my generation refers to life as before the war and after the war. I do feel as if we are in the battle of our lives for our life.

*****

As a child, summer was always a time to run free – free from dreaded homework assignments, washing after dinner dishes, and free from the tedious chore of layering clothes to keep warm during harsh upstate NY winters.  In my 20s and 30s, summer became a time of extra hours of daylight to celebrate with cocktails/wine with friends, long runs in the park and extra dog walk time.  But over the last few years, summer has meant a zap of extra energy that I could pour into my passion of supporting nonprofit organizations.

This summer seems somewhat different, however.  I can’t pinpoint the exact reasons, but perhaps knowing that I’m shortly embarking on a new career as well as reading the blaring daily headlines about the tragedy in the Gulf, I seem to have even more enthusiasm and energy to support the causes that I’m passionate about.

So here’s my thought.  What if we could take the extra 3-4 hours of sunshine that we are so graciously provided each June, July, August (and even September) and use that time to give back to some of those fabulous organizations that NEED help.  For EVERY interest, passion, category, location that exists, there is a worthy nonprofit organization that is dying for volunteers and support – young and old.  Below, I’m going to share with you some of my treasured ones and suggest you take peek.

Have you ever thought of planting a fish?  Now, I know you’ve probably planted a tree before, perhaps ever several, but have you ever considered “planting” an oyster or another sea creature?  Intrigued?  If so, check out Plant A Fish a new nonprofit founded by Fabien Cousteau, grandson of the legendary ocean explorer, Jacques Yves Cousteau!  Fabien’s goal is to help children and communities around the world “replant” key species in their local waterways – rivers, lakes and oceans.  The organization will also be helping with the relocation of various sea animals affected by the Gulf Oil Spill.  If you are passionate about our planet, the outdoor world and the environment, I encourage you to sign up today.  Within the next few years, there will be Plant A Fish communities created in cities around the world.  Follow on Twitter: @plantafish.

Job creation.  Nice thought, don’t you think?  Have you ever considered how much holding a job can mean to someone?  We often take for granted the fact that a paycheck comes every week or so, but there are millions around the world that aren’t so fortunate as that.  What if you could help women in areas of the world affected by war and conflict, build their businesses and create employment – places like Afghanistan, El Salvador, Rwanda and Bosnia?  What if you could use the skills you have acquired over the years to help train others to run more efficient and profitable businesses?  Well, if you join Bpeace, you can do just that and become part of a global network of business women and men that are making a huge different in peoples’ lives.  Whether you choose to visit one of the above-mentioned countries and provide expertise on the ground, or work while at your laptop or mobile device, Bpeace can truly use your brainpower. Follow on Twitter: @bpeacehq

Another very special organization worth a look is ManUp, a nonprofit campaign dedicated to empowering youth around the world to stop violence against women and girls.  You can visit the site regularly to view new advocacy opportunities , adopt an educational or a community activity that you can introduce to your school or community group, submit an article to their blog post a comment on the Man Up Blog, join the Man Up Facebook page, or just keep the dialogue going.  Founder, Jimmie Briggs, previously was a news reporter who witnessed one too many tragedies.  With that he decided to it was time use his voice to make a difference.  You can join him and his team and support their gallant efforts.  As I type, the team is in South Africa about to commence a global conference teaching individuals how to stop such violence in their own communities.

For the teen crowd reading this post as well as moms and dads that look after a teenager or possibly several, check out the fabulous DoSomething.org.  I have literally fallen in love with the team that tirelessly keeps this organization’s engine humming.  The CEO’s title is actually “Chief Old Person” and the mission is ALL about helping teens do just that – DO SOMETHING!  The mission is using the power of ‘online’ to get teens to do something ‘offline’.  Essentially, you can visit the site, search by location and interest and find the organization that is most appealing to your interests and then join – be it helping with animal welfare causes, hunger relief programs, homelessness, human rights issues, or fighting poverty and many many more.  Check it out today.  Follow on Twitter: @dosomething

And don’t forget Witness, founded by activist and musician, Peter Gabriel, in 1992, after he “witnessed” how the video of police beating Rodney King in Los Angeles spread so rapidly around the world.  Witness provides training and support to local groups globally so that they can use video to showcase human rights advocacy campaigns. Beyond providing video cameras and editing equipment, WITNESS helps provide exposure for human rights abuses via key partners in all corners of the globe. Interesting to note, Witness was using the power of social media long before Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube became part of our every day lives.  The organization is always looking for talented volunteers and provide a wealth of information on its website.  Follow on Twitter: @Witnessorg

A final few to mention:  Plastic Pollution Coalition, Executives Without Borders and Women for Women International.

I could go on and on as there are so many truly valuable organizations that exist here in the States and abroad.  Write to me if you have others that I should visit.  Believe me, for every day of the week and every hour of each day, there is a world of good you can do.  Take a few hours of the extra light we are granted to find what will make you shine while helping others along the way…

*****
Susan (@susanmcp1) is a connector and active cause marketer. She is member of the board of Bpeace, a nonprofit dedicated to providing pro-bono consulting to women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan, Rwanda, Bosnia and El Salvador. She also is a member of Echoing Green’s Social Investment Council, the Clinton Global Initiative, and the New York Leadership team for 85 Broads. Additionally, she serves on the advisor to JANERA and The OpEd Project.  Professionally, Susan has worked at PR Newswire for 14+ years in CSR, business development and marketing roles and has just accepted a senior vice president position at Fenton, starting late in July.  She resides in Brooklyn and can be found many summer evenings blogging, tweeting and volunteering from her roof deck garden.

*****

Photo Credit Kris Krug / Static Photography. View more photos from TEDxOil Spill Expedition on Flickr.

As I sit here writing this, up to 100 million gallons of oil has spewed into the gulf and as it continues to do so, it is destroying our fragile ecosystem and people’s livelihoods. We cannot just sit, watch the news and continue to say, “This is horrible!” and, “How could this happen?” without some action to back it up. This problem is our problem now and we need to stand up and help where ever and however we can.

WHO IS HELPING THE GULF COAST REGION?

There are so many groups doing amazing work along the Gulf coastlines.  After days of due diligence and research, our co-producer Sloane Berrent came back to the group with multiple nonprofits to partner with and options but we all narrowed in on the Gulf Restoration Network’s new initiative, Gulf Future, because we all thought it reflected our mission. Support the coastal and fishing communities, restore the marine and costal environments and, maybe most important, make people aware and responsible for what has happened in the Gulf so history does not repeat itself in the future.

HOW ARE WE RAISING MONEY?

Naturally owning The Roxy in Los Angeles, I thought we should throw a benefit concert, but then wondering how to make it really have an impact, it came to me, what if we reached out to our neighbor businesses to see if we could all work together and really take something as simple as a benefit concert and turn it into a wave of action. I then reached out to Casey Phillips, who I knew as a true New Orleans man and someone who had a real “on the ground” pulse of what was happening. Not only was he a native of the area but also the talent buyer for multiple clubs including our own Sunset Strip neighbor, The Viper Room. Casey echoed my same thoughts and went into action immediately bringing in Sloane Berrent and The Roxy’s Megan Jacobs along with a team of people who knew something had to be done now. Three weeks and a couple of thousands emails later, we now have over 50 independent music venues and over 100 bands fighting for the cause.

All the venues will send their gate revenues from these shows directly to Gulf Restoration Network within 72 hours of our shows.  Also, our donation widget send funds directly to the Gulf Restoration Network’s account so we don’t ever touch the donations and they all go directly to the nonprofit partner. We’re making sure it gets into the hands of community groups like Bayou Grace and St. Bernard Community Center within weeks and we’ll be sharing that with those who made donations both online and through attending events through social networks and follow up blog posts with our partners.

WE HAVE VENUES, NOW WE NEED TALENT….

The Roxy, The Viper Room, The Comedy Store and Tipitinas are among dozens of the nations best clubs and music venues that are coming together in solidarity to fundraise for gulf oil spill communities on July, 1st. Plus individuals have planned smaller events to support our efforts across 11 countries, it’s pretty incredible!

This is our call to action as it is for all the bands that our participating in this national one day event and we’ve gotten such incredible talent including:

Rebelution / Galactic / Kaki King / Mickey Avalon / Ben Lee / Guitar Shorty / Iglu & Hartly / Ivan Neville / Cisco & Shwayze / Walter Wolfman Washington  / Sarah Borges / Coco Robicheaux / Beardo / Wicker / Lost Bayou Ramblers / Rotary Downs / Daryl Hannah / Dave Faustino/ Ed Begley Jr

Although I’m unsatisfied with the clean up and the support that the fisherman have received so far, I am inspired to know that all over the world people are signing up and either giving their time and effort or donating money to make a difference in the spill zone. That gives me great hope that when we look to our neighbors, no matter how close or far away they may be, we will always come together to help the ones in need, that is what our great country is best at. What we have put together is only the beginning of a long line of projects that others will continue to do until every drop of oil is cleaned up, every bird and fish healthy and every person who has been directly affected by this has been compensated. We can only accept yelling at the TV after we have done something to make difference so please get involved anyway you can. The time is now!

This is the beginning of a blog post that I am seeing coming flying into my google alerts and into my inbox. It’s the start of a groundswell for tomorrow night’s Gulf Coast Benefit concerts.

Current stand is 60 Meetups, about 45 which are music venues and the rest are awareness get-togethers. It’s grown to 5 countries too (shout out to the Montreal and Paris contingent in particular)! 100% of online donations and the ticket price at venues is going to Gulf Restoration Network. Those who know me, know that I look to inspire others to find ways to give back and this benefit series is speaking to the passionate resolve we all have to help others in times of need.

How can you get involved? Make a donation, whatever amount you can give. Every dollar counts. Then, how about asking 5 friends to match you? Send an email or post to your Facebook wall and say something like:

I just donated $10 to support Gulf Benefit Concerts, will you match my donation?

You can attend. Full listing of venues is on the Meetup Everywhere page.

You can blog about the events. This takes our message to your fans, supporters and friends. A blog post goes a long way! An article in your local paper helps tell more people about what we’re up to. To give you inspiration, here are links to some of the most recent press we’ve gotten. (And huge thanks to everyone below).

• Antiquiet Interview with Co-organizer Casey Phillips:
  

  New Orleans has been in a fight for survival for the past decade. In terms of the deep musical spirit of the area, what’s the general atmosphere among local artists in relation to this crisis?
  
  The strength of the NOLA musical community is a force that some may have doubted before Katrina, but few question anymore. They have lead by example these past 5 years by refusing to let our musical heritage disappear. To me they represent pillars of strength for others to draw inspiration from. The cajun culture of the bayou regions is as important to Louisiana’s heritage as jelly-roll jazz. Right now the future for the fishing communities looks bleak, however, but I can say with certainty that the cajuns are proud people, and the backbone of Louisiana – we will not let them down.

• Live Earth
  

  “We know through music and the generosity of people that we can help make a difference in the Gulf Coast.” Adler says. “We hope this inspires others to make a donation, attend an event and get involved.”

• Fayetteville Flyer

Mountain of Venus, Matt Stell & the Crashers, Bent Grass Green, Black Pearl, Tiffany Christopher and Sarah Hughes will play the show on Thursday at George’s. The suggested donation is $10, and 100% off the door from the show will be donated to the cause.

“We tried to book a diverse group of music, from different genres to try and get all kinds of folks to come out,” said Mountain of Venus’s Tanya Shylock, one of the organizers of the local benefit at George’s.

• Surfer Mag
  

  Rebelution sells out nearly EVERY venue they play in southern California, so this is bound to be a fantastic event!

• Fusicology
  

  Many of our fellow Americans in the foreseeable future will have no livelihood, they’re preparing to leave their homes, and are now lining up for food handouts. The wetlands and wildlife are in desperate need of our attention now and can’t wait for BP to start the clean up process. With hurricane season on the horizon there is reason for great concern and it’s crucial the affected communities be prepared for the worst.

Hoping for much more press, good will, donations and attendance to come. And if you want to get involved, what are you waiting for? Do it! And let me know how I can help.

Update: Full Press List for Gulf Coast Benefits:

• Mashable
• CNN iReport
• Huffington Post
• Huffington Post: The Skinny
• Case Foundation’s Social Citizens
• LAist
• What Gives
• Socialbrite
• Antiquiet
• Live Earth
• Fayetteville Flyer
• Surfer Mag
• Fusicology
• Washington Post Online
• Guide to Portsmouth, New Hampshire
• NOLA.com
• The Gambit
• Paisley Petunia
• Taylor Davidson

Radio/TV

• KROQ Radio
• WWOZ New Orleans Music Show with George Ingmire
• WWL appearance July 1st

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As the BP deepwater drilling disaster stretches into its third month, the community impacts are significant and getting worse.  For the newest episode of our ongoing YouTube series, we revisit the Atakapa-Ishka people of Grand Bayou Community in lower Plaquemines Parish.  Please watch as tribal representatives recount the oil in their marsh, covering their oyster leases and jeopardizing their future.  This was a tough video to create, and the impacts of this disaster really hit me hard as I was seeing it through the eyes of the people who live off this land, now ruined by BP’s crude.

Heartbreaking images of oiled pelicans, sea turtles, and marsh underscore the environmental crisis facing the region.  The Gulf Restoration Network continues to push for a more effective clean up and containment effort, and remains committed to bringing you authentic voices from the Gulf’s affected communities.

Our call to action for this YouTube episode links to our new collaborative campaign, Gulf Future.  This effort lays out a simple three-part strategy to learn the lessons of this disaster:

• Clean up the oil industry’s mess in the Gulf,
• Get coastal communities the resources they need to fight for their future,
• Create a clean energy future so this never happens again.

So please watch the video, and learn more about the effect of BP’s oil hitting home. Then click through to Gulf Future, and help empower a community-led response to this disaster.

For the future of the Gulf,

Aaron Viles
Campaign Director

**Visit Gulf Benefit Concerts for more information**