As an artist and a musician, I feel blessed that I have an outlet and way of expression for my thoughts, struggles and feelings, and I also get to meet and engage with so many wonderful and interesting people. One of the areas I have been fortunate to be called upon is in donating artwork or music performances to charities for fundraising. My acoustic duo partner in Me & D, David DeLallo, and I were chatting this week about the tough times many people are having lately, whether failing health or economically due to #COVID, or social and environmental issues (#BLM #blacklivesmatter #translivesmatter #immigrantsareessential, #anotherhurricane #wildfires #agingsucks #nomorepolitics and many others).
Due to the crap most people are dealing with lately, many charity organizations are also struggling with funds. Donations fall when people can barely afford rent and food, obviously. We did a bit of brainstorming on ways we could contribute. David put it best on his Instagram post: “So we have decided that we will now be donating any earnings we get from gigs to charity. Starting with our gig on Saturday, September 19, 2020 at Coalhouse Pizza in Stamford, CT 5pm, all proceeds will go to #fof_cats (Friends of Felines) in Stamford, CT which does an amazing job rescuing cats and placing them in good homes…This fall, we will be doing this through online shows (no indoor shows during the pandemic for us.) Stay tuned, and if you have a charity you want us to play for” direct message us.
I just wanted to put out the word that I am still creating art, and Me & D are still making music, but our platform and goals have shifted a bit. Reach out if you have a charity or venue in mind, would like to donate, or would like to participate in some other way. #payitforward #workingtogether