Boulder, Colorado – Not-for-profit Conscious Alliance – feeding America’s hungry through music – ramps up this year’s holiday giving with the announcement of their 5th annual “Holiday Meal Drive.” With the support of musicians and their fans, and this year in partnership with Whole Foods Market, the organization will deliver full holiday meals to impoverished Native American Reservations for the fifth year in a row. The organization also hosts the Rebel Alliance Jam XIV – a holiday benefit show at Boulder, Colorado’s Fox Theatre on November 29th featuring Keith Moseley, Scott Law, Jeff Sipe, Gibb Droll, and special guest Kyle Hollingsworth.
Conscious Alliance launches their holiday campaign on the heels of October’s hugely successful “Back to School Snack Tour.” The project brought much needed healthy snacks and school supplies to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Hot Buttered Rum joined the organization for the trip, and offered very special musical performances at local schools on the reservation.
Conscious Alliance’s 5th annual “Holiday Meal Drive,” in partnership with Whole Foods Market, hopes to deliver 2,500 full holiday meals to four impoverished Native American Reservations: Pine Ridge, SD; Lame Deer, MT; Houma, LA; and Tohajiilee, NM. This requires that the drive collect $25,000 in donations; last year the organization collected $16,000. As in previous years, the organization is reaching out to their alliance of music industry artists and their fans for support. Participating artists include The String Cheese Incident, STS9, Umphrey’s McGee, the Disco Biscuits, Yonder Mountain String Band, and many others. Individuals who want to donate to the 5 th annual “Holiday Meal Drive” are encouraged to visit http://www.consciousalliance.org/donate.htm to pledge.
In other Conscious Alliance holiday traditions, this year’s holiday benefit show will take place on November 29th at the Fox Theatre in Boulder, Colorado. The Rebel Alliance Jam XIV features Keith Moseley, Scott Law, Jeff Sipe, Gibb Droll, and special guest Kyle Hollingsworth. Tickets are $18, Doors are at 8:30 PM / Show at 9:00 PM, Ages 21+, For tickets and information visit www.foxtheatre.com.
Conscious Alliance’s fall project, the “Back to School Snack Tour,” recently delivered much needed healthy snacks and school supplies to Wolf Creek Reservation School on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. 600 students in grades kindergarten through eighth received over 750 healthy snack bags and school supplies, including notebooks, pens, folders, backpacks, colored markers and paper.
Not-so-traditional string band Hot Buttered Rum joined Conscious Alliance for the journey after performing a two-night fundraising concert series in Boulder, Colorado. The band helped load and deliver the 24 foot box truck full of donated goods, and performed three special interactive shows for the students, as well as a free show for the larger Pine Ridge community. The Pine Ridge community welcomed Hot Buttered Rum as family. While the community knows well the generous support of bands and their fans, this was the first time any band had come with Conscious Alliance to the reservation. While there, members of Hot Buttered Rum did an interview with KILI Radio, the voice of Lakota Nation, and were invited to partake in a traditional Lakota Sioux sweat lodge ceremony. “It was very uplifting to be part of the Conscious Alliance experience on the reservation,” says Nat Keefe of Hot Buttered Rum. “And it opened our eyes to a new way for the Hot Buttered Rum organization to be involved in service and activism.”
For 2009, Conscious Alliance continues to find ways for artists and their fans to participate in the organization’s service projects, including offering students opportunities to start a Conscious Alliance Student Group at their college.
Visit www.consciousalliance.org for more information.
