HEALING TIME PROJECT
Josh Charles
I am currently involved in the Josh Charles Healing Time Project. Josh is an incredible musician and teacher. His music and efforts on behalf of New Orleans has been highlighted in USA Today, the Huffington Post, as well as CNN, the Tavis Smiley Show on PBS and Good Morning America. He spent Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, huddled with so many thousands of others, leaving on one of the last buses after the storm. Seeing the aftermath changed Josh, and he has dedicated 100% of the proceeds of his song Healing Time to the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans. The PRC works diligently to restore and rebuild homes affected by Hurricane Katrina, particularly in the areas hardest hit, including the Lower 9th Ward. The song is available for download from iTunes and Amazon.
I have agreed to help Josh put together a campaign, to encourage people to become part of the Healing Time Project, and spread the word. We are doing this through the use of Twitter and FaceBook, as well as UStream and a variety of web-based applications that tie into these media sites.
Josh and I recently launched the Healing Time Cover Video Contest, and are asking musicians, amateur or professional, to videotape themselves covering the Healing Time song. We’ll judge all entries and do a runoff of the top 10. The best ones will be played during a live streaming concert sometime in December. We also recently launched the Healing Time Blog Post Contest, and are asking bloggers big and small to provide a new post telling the World what Healing Time means to them on a personal level. Josh is working on great prizes for both contests.
AQUATHON II PROJECT
Ashton Kutcher's Shoutout for Aquathon
Kirstie Alley and I had a resounding success earlier this year with Aquathon, as we co-hosted the first live 24-hour telethon on Twitter. Using Twitter, FaceBook, UStream and a variety of other online applications, we managed to raise $28,000 in just 24 hours, involving thousands of participants. This project benefited the fine work of Playpumps International, and purchased two PlayPumps wells to be placed in needy African communities. I am so lucky to be able to work with Kirstie and the wonderful team of people who helped us! Here’s the after-event press release…
Aquathon II is in the works, scheduled for May 1, 2010. It will be an ambitious project; a dance-a-thon all over the world. Call it a Worldwide Summer Social Dance, to raise more funds towards clean water projects all over the world. This will take an incredible amount of planning, and I look forward to the challenge!
You can follow Aquathon on Twitter or FaceBook.
