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| Message from the Jazz Foundation: Our flood brothers & sisters in Louisiana Hello Good People: The Jazz Foundation is there when the legends we know and love are facing a crisis. We assist about 30 emergency cases a day. This takes about $3 million a year to do this. But when there's a disaster, and many musicians are affected, that's when we need your help even more. Our Louisiana flood-brothers & sisters need us now. It is hard enough to be a musician: It's hard enough to be a musician these days when everyone listens to music alone, on a device, and 'live music' is always fighting to keep its head above water. What they lost: They have lost EVERYTHING. (Most of their homes had music studios, where they made their income), all their clothes, their kids' clothes, beds, photo albums, furniture, refrigerators, instruments... even the painstaking historic beadwork of the Mardi Gras Indians, everyone lost everything. Katrina took us ten years to help re-house and create gigs for over 1, 000 musicians and their families, so they could pay their new rents...it took us millions of dollars. A Mini Katrina: This flood was a mini Katrina and we think that if we can raise $1 million, we can continue at least to get the basics for them. We already have $550, 000 in pledges. The Situation: Without warning, the contaminated waters came in like rapids at 2:00 AM. Many were awakened by their kids coming into their rooms in two feet of water or by waking with the water touching their feet in their beds! There was only time to grab the children and get to their car and most told us they had to lift their children/grandchildren over their heads, and sit on top of vehicles waiting for someone with a boat or watch their car float away. 92-year-old legend, Henry Gray (who played with Muddy Waters & Howlin' Wolf) was waiting in complete darkness, water to his knees, no electricity, when his lady spotted headlights and a four-wheeler ATV that she got to stop and save them. His home is now beyond repair. What we are doing: Our team arrived in Baton Rouge within days of the flood 6 weeks ago and started to go from musician home to musician home. At first it was just about delivering food, cleaning supplies, diapers, clothes and protective gloves because EVERYONE, (even musicians in their 70's and 80's were gutting their own homes pulling walls out, carrying heavy furniture and exposing themselves to toxic mold and e coli bacteria.) Why we need the money: Paying mortgages: They lost everything, no one even has clothes to change into, and they were now having to buy cleaning supplies and emergency items. So by us paying mortgages/rents, they won't lose their homes and can free up their house money to buy the day-to-day urgent things. Replacing Instruments: We are replacing their most important instrument lost in the flood. Sadly, everyone had more than one... Decontaminating homes: With all the toxic mold & bacteria that sat in their homes, if not decontaminated and dried professionally - they would be rebuilding death traps. So the amazing Brian L'Hommedieu and his Drimaxx emergency services agreed to drive to Louisiana with his team and they've been working day and night to help us make their homes safe for half the usual price! Here's where You come in: We got the first half of what is needed, we are helping more and more musicians each day. Please help us raise the other half of the Million this will take to save the health & the homes of our treasured roots musicians and their kids. And remember, when you are helping the Jazz Foundation of America, you are probably helping someone who was one of the very people whose music got you through your life. Thank you, for getting them through theirs. click here to help: http://www.jazzfoundation.org/donate Saving Jazz and Blues, one musician at a time. Bless you all. Let's get everyone "Home" for Christmas... Yours in service, Wendy, Joe, Alisa and everyone at the Jazz Foundation of America write your comments about the article :: © 2016 Jazz News :: home page |