Grow Your Meme
GPICT! Yes, kids, it’s Gratuitous Public Interest Campaign Thursday, begun last week and to be continued on every Thursday hence. Can you imagine if everyone who gratuitously posted a photo of themselves on Wedesday matched it with by gratuitously posting a link or note about some great public interest initiative? That would be so badass! I’m gonna start by directing you to Soup’s post about his upcoming birthday (March 30th yo!) and his Charitini-inspired drive for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. But it can be anything really - letting people know about a day of clean-up, volunteering, a Twitter fundraising campaign,and, um, dangerous-sounding-but-cutely-named hitchhiking campaigns. Or more! Who knows what it can become - when it comes to social media the possibilities are endless!
Okay so that’s my pitch. Anyone who’s into it, please reblog with a link to your favorite charity. Let’s see how many we can collect in one place - I will add everything we get to the Charitini blogroll. Let’s DO this! High five! Woo! Booyah! Etc.
A cool idea. Since this is a music blog I figure I should post a music-related charity, and luckily there’s a really cool one that more people should know about. It’s called Music Maker Relief Foundation, and basically it provides arts funding for older low-income musicians in traditions of the American South, mostly blues artists. Their description:
“Music Maker Relief Foundation, Inc. helps the true pioneers and forgotten heroes of Southern music gain recognition and meet their day to day needs. We present these musical traditions to the world so American culture will flourish and be preserved for future generations.
Our criterion for recipients is they be rooted in a Southern musical tradition, be 55 years or older and have an annual income less than $18,000.”
Their list of artists is essentially a list of the people who are keeping authentic, traditional blues music alive. I discovered Precious Bryant through Music Maker, and she’s now one of my favorite blues artists. I also love Etta Baker, Captain Luke, Neal Pattman, and Othar Turner, and I haven’t even listened through most of the other artists.
