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Erinne Brown
Outreach Volunteer |
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"Volunteering for LIFEbeat's Tour Outreach has been a meaningful experience for me. It's a great feeling being able to educate people on HIV/AIDS and giving them resources that can help them stay safe. It's also a fun environment to meet young people of different backgrounds to create awareness about an issue that affects us all."
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- Featured artist- Andy Mac
- Featured volunteer- Maeve Lenahan
- Program Highlights
- Volunteer Appreciation Party RECAP
- Afterwards
A big hand for our new artists this quarter!
Eric Svejcar - Hothouse Jazz Band - Lovari - Mary Chestro - Oxford Belles - Shaun Barker - Zack Borer
Huge thanks to everyone who played!
African Drum & Dance - Al Lee Wyer - Aly Sun Panichi - amberRose Marie - Andrew Suvalsky - Anna Tonna - BlackSteelz - Carla Hill - Chloe - Chris Jones - David Pearl - Dan Ferrari - Deni Bonet - Eric Svejcar - Emory Taylor - Erika Banks - Free Radicals - Gay Marshall - Giorgio - Grace Garland - Imperial Court - Jami Jackson - Jesse O - Jill Melanie Wirth - Josh Zuckerman - Katy Pfaffl - Larry May - Leeia Musique - Maria Davis - Markeisha Ensley - Michael Doane - Mike Butler - Nhojj - Noam Weinstein - Oxford Belles - Paradox - Paul Wayne - Rene Collins - Robert Bosscher - Ron B. - Sean Dixon - Sean360 & Urban Spiritual - Seth Rudetsky - Shaun Barker - Sonia Montez - Tha Heights - Todd Alsup - Tony George - Voices In Praise - Voices In Unity
Now let's hear it for our amazing volunteers!
Amenan Kouadio - Benji Tiger - Cokeya Williams - Debbie Kaplan - Janete Scobie - Jen Grossman - Janine Charles - Jessica Cooke - Joshua Cox - Kevin George - Kwame Yeboa - Laura Wierbicki - Leigh Ollman - Maeve Lenahan - Michael Johnz - Patrice Grant-Thompson - Shana Williams
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Featured Artist-Andy Mac
Tell us about yourself?
"Well, my name's Andy Mac. I'm a full time singer/songwriter living in NYC. I moved here four years ago to make a real "go" of music. And so far, things have been good. I've had my music featured on FOX, MTV, and Sirius/XM Radio. I also just released two brand new albums and they're getting a great response. For more information, please visit http://www.MySpace.com/AndyMac or email me at andymacmusic@gmail.com."
What has your experience been like with Hearts & Voices?
"I play shows for Hearts & Voices because it's one of the best ways for me to give back. I'm a firm believer in leaving things as good or better than you found them. If everyone tried to make everyone else a little better off than they found them, this world would be much more full of smiles. I can't afford to donate money. But, I can sing and play. So, I do."
How did you connect with LIFEbeat?
"I connected with LIFEbeat through my good friend (and talented fellow artist) Mr. Ben Godwin. Ben had mentioned to me that he was deeply involved in Hearts & Voices and would like me to play a show. So I did, people seemed to love it, so I kept coming back."
What's the best part of the experience for you?
"The best part of the experience is the connection with the people. Honestly, I don't play many of my own songs at these shows. I just want to play ANYTHING that will make the residents smile. And when I start the first verse of "My Girl" or "Lean on Me" and I see the smiles come to their faces, it's a great reminder WHY I started playing music. It's priceless."
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Featured Volunteer - Maeve Lenahan
"Before working with LifeBeat, I had done HIV prevention outreach actions before. The particular organization I was working with was planning an action in a public venue with more than 4,000 attendants. During the planning process our supervisor mentioned that positive individuals may see it & to keep that in mind while we were designing the outreach action. This got me thinking, while I am doing prevention work, I myself had never met anyone living with HIV & the human element was lacking from my experience at that point.
A friend of mine referred me to LIfeBeat, she is a LIFEbeat Local Tour Outreach volunteer. I had no idea about Hearts & Voices when I signed up for volunteer orientation about a year ago. I also needed to fulfill a service learning requirement for school to graduate. After the orientation, I quickly found that in order to fulfill the hours I would need to work through Hearts & Voices, due to its myriad of opportunities.
My first show was at Casa Promesa(CASA). I was a little scared. I had never felt comfortable in any kind of hospital before, nor had I never met anyone living with HIV/AIDS. A few residents were already waiting in the activities room and very excited for the show. The clients were all very nice and wanting to talk. The room was already set-up, and recreation notifies the residents, so its just the sound equipment that needs to be put together. I had never done sound check before. We were ready to go and just needed one more thing, the performer. She was running a bit late, but once she got there the audience came to life, dancing and singing along with her singing covers of "I Will Survive" & other strong soprano ballads. Within an hour my reaction and understanding of "sick" people had complete ly changed.
I have been a Hearts & Voices volunteer for a little over a year now. CASA and Terence Cardinal Cooke (TCC) are the facilities I go to the most. Each facility has its own setup, some have people waiting in the room, others we have to invite to shows. TCC is great because of the fantastic team of volunteers, that have lead the way and helped me learn everything I know about how to communicate and build trust with our clients. Every week coming out of the elevator, I am greeted by familiar faces on 3 floors.
Over the past several months I had been working on getting a very anxious client to come watch our shows. She is new to the facility, and enjoys music but always fears she will skip dinner time or get in trouble with the staff for going. Neither are the case. The first time she came, she stayed for one song & then wanted to go back upstairs so she could eat dinner. I knew that the dining room would hold her food for her, but could not convince her of that. The same thing happened the next week. Every week when I was inviting guests to our shows, I would talk to her for a minute or so, see how she was feeling and always would let her know we were downstairs. She came down on her own last week. It was very happy to see her.
In addition to the wonderful souls of the fellow volunteers I have met and the amazing spirits of our clientele, I have also been introduced to up and coming artists that I would have never met or been able to hear if not for Hearts & Voices. Something special happens at every show. Hearts & Voices allows everyone to come out of their shell just a bit more, whether its some one's first time doing karaoke or just making a new friend through the little musical world we make for an hour."
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Hearts & Voices Program Highlights
This is a perfect time to look back and be grateful for all that has gone on since the last Heartbeat issue. I took a quick look back at what got produced over the Summer months and am happy with the results.
We performed 64 successful performances and brightened the days of 1466 audience members over the Summer months. Here are a few highlights from those shows along with some noteworthy accomplishments from some of our Hearts & Voices performers/volunteers:
- Award winning R&B songstress Markeisha Ensley headlined a benefit concert at NYC's Sullivan Hall on Wednesday, July 15 at 8:30pm in which the proceeds were donated to LIFEbeat.
- Gay Marshall has been entrancing our audiences with her lively and moving renditions of Edith Piaf & Jacques Brel songs, sung in both French and English. On 2 special occassions she has brought her very talented accompanist Eric Svejcar. Gay brings an international flare to our shows that is greatly appreciated.
- Despite her very busy schedule, Maria Davis continues to bring amazing talent to Hearts & Voices shows throughout the year. Maria recently brought Shaliek, Mio & Chandlar to Terence Cardinal Cooke for a wonderful showcase of R&B vocal stylings.
- Congratulations to our very own Latin Pop & B Music Sensations THA HEIGHTS for premiring their new video "Selfish". They recently had a very well attended premire party. Here is an interview from the event and the "Selfish" video itself.
This is just a small glimpse of what 's been going on. If you'd like to get a glimpse of what a Hearts & Voices show is like visit our website www.heartsandvoices.org to view our short promo video.
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Jami Jackson, Maria Davis, Jen Pattap, Laura Wierbicki, Maeve Lenahan, Seth Rudetsky, DJ Boo, Janete Scobie
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RECAP of the LIFEbeat 2009 Volunteer Appreciation Party [VAP]!
There was a plethora of volunteers at this years Volunteer Appreciation party, which took place on Tuesday, October 27. We enjoyed each others company, had many costumes, complimentary sparkling wine from Barefoot Bubbly, hors d'oeuvres, raffle, awards, and fabulous music & dancing orchestrated by DJ Boo.
Everyone who volunteers with Hearts & Voices is a winner, but there are a few people who were recognized this year for going above and beyond:
Bob Caviano Service Award
(An award created to honor LIFEbeat's founder)
Presented to the H&V artist whose service to the program goes above and beyond.
Maria Davis
Philip Williams Medal of Compassionate Service
(An award created to honor the memory and service of the long time Imperial Court coordinator who passed in May 2007)
Presented to the H&V general volunteer whose service to the program and its beneficiaries goes above and beyond.
Laura Wierbicki
Rockstars - Artists
Jami Jackson
Seth Rudetsky
DJ Boo
Rockstars - General Volunteers
Jen Grossman
Janete Scobie
Maeve Lanahan
Afterword
I'm happy to be able to update you on what Hearts & Voices has been up to in the Summer and Early Fall. We are at the very beginning of the Holiday Season, which will be full of great music, lots of gifts and most importantly loving holiday cheer. It is through the generosity of our many volunteers and donors that all of this happens so easily and gracefully. A big thank you to all of you unsung heros who make this program the amazing gift it is!
Peace & Happy Holiday Celebrations,
Erika
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