VIRTUAL VOLUNTEERS NEEDED, anywhere in the world, starting TODAY!
If you want to know WHY, continue reading below.
If you don't care why, and just want to know HOW to volunteer and doing WHAT, then skip the sections immediately below and jump to the bottom! :)
Why we need volunteer participants for 50 days, starting TODAY:
Many of you already know that on January 8, 2012, Listen for Life is producing a very unique multicultural concert (www.listenforlife.org/carnegie) at the most famous concert hall in America, if not in the world - Carnegie Hall in NY. The January 8th concert is featuring 8 instruments played by 8 artists representing 8 different music genres/cultures starting at 8pm. "The Power of Eight" is actually an event of global significance because three of the artist-treasures from Israel, Syria and Palestine will be flying in to perform together on one stage as a musical statement for peace in the new year. Also featured in the program will be the Emmy-Award winning Natl Champion of Vietnam (she is also an Oscar nominee), a top award winner in Hawaiian music, a Grammy-nominee jazz-piano phenomenon, a young UK violist who has already played 4 sold out world-music concerts at Carnegie Hall with Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, and the Artistic Ambassador for both UK and USA who is also a Grammy-category nominee and renowned television host internationally. The program will include the NY premiere of a Native-American based piano work and the world premiere of a work for oud, viola and piano being created at the moment by a major award-winning film composer.
All of the artists are donating their performances and travel expenses in order to be a part of something much bigger than themselves - they are all Listen for Life musicians because they all share the belief that music can indeed be a common denominator, a channel of communication, and a unifying force for good in the world. They also agree that if you "change your music" you can indeed "change your life" ....unfortunately too many people listen to one style of music or the one set of songs that play over and over on global media, without taking the opportunity to discover new sounds, new instruments, and new experiences of music listening that can enrich and elevate their thinking, their spirits or their lives. The program on January 8th in NY will bring traditional instruments of several cultures to Carnegie hall at discounted ticket prices so that families, youth, students and seniors can hopefully attend and "taste" some new sound combinations while experiencing the unity and peace that can be created through the gift of cross-cultural music.
We hope to then replicate this concert program in other cities around the world over the next few years so that we can inspire other musicians to join us, and impact the lives of even more music listeners. But the initial January event itself is a major opportunity to let the media help us to make music listeners worldwide know of our existence and our outreach projects that can help serve their own communities. It is also a chance for us to help other causes, organizations, corporations, foundations, related products, musicians with CD releases, anyone who wants to partner with Listen for Life, to sponsor the Carnegie hall event and thus gain access to not only the live audience members but also to our global audience through our website, broadcast channels, social networks, etc. The problem is, I have been working at doing just that, for 10-12 hours per day, 6 days a week, for months now, and I am only beginning to scratch the surface of the thousands and thousands of people that we could be contacting and offering these partnerships and opportunities to, if I had others to join me in the email and media campaign.
HOW you can be a virtual volunteer, from your own community, and WHAT you can do:
So today I realized that all I need to do (I hope!) is to let everyone KNOW that you can participate and that we not only invite you to join us, we need you to join us! I am now officially inaugurating our CHVW - that stands for Carnegie Hall Virtual Workshop. Think of a carpenter's workshop, where lots of people are busy each doing a specific task but all working to contribute their small piece to the huge edifice of a gorgeous building, or sculpture, or whatever image comes to your mind as being meaningful, beautiful and beneficial for the world.
Since there are lots of special holidays coming up around the globe between now and January 8th, I figure at most we have 50 work days left till this globally significant event - but any publicity, media, sponsorship or advertising deadlines are a minimum 30 days or more prior to an event, of course, so most (but not all) of the tasks involving virtual volunteers online need to happen in the next 1-3 weeks, ideally.
Things you can do:
- using a "master copy" email I have written for various categories of media or other contacts, send it to each of the individuals on specific databases that I would share with you.
- should you prefer making live contacts on phone or in person, using 'talking points" or "task outlines" I can send you, participate in your own local community to raise the awareness of the opportunity for partnership
- We would welcome any and all help from those of you who are social networking gurus and can help us get the word out on your FB, twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, online media access, websites, YouTube channels, and any other social media you know!
- If you live in or near the NY area, we have postcard flyers about the event, to hand out anywhere you go.
- If you have other ideas of what you would do with our fast-approaching opportunity & event, just let me know!
To get started, all you have to do is contact me by email and tell me how you would like to participate:
Even if you only have a little bit of free time in which to participate, it all adds up! Take our "50-day challenge" and you will see how much of a difference YOU can make by sharing even just a tiny portion of your gifts and skills to help change the world through music. Get to know us through this campaign and then hopefully you'll find that the benefits to your own life and music experience are so rewarding, you'll even decide to start a Listen for Life chapter and projects of your own initiative, someday, in your own community!
Look forward to hearing from you, as soon as possible!
warmest thanks for wanting to be a part of this,
Donna
