Actually, I'm preparing checks for the charities we chose based upon helpful submissions from members. On January 1, I'm mailing checks to Bebop(Bill) for the St. Jude hospital in his area, to Mike (mikeathome) for The Humane Assn in his area and to Dano for the Ed Block Courage Award Foundation.

As before, I'm mailing the $100.00 checks to you guys and asking that you forward them to
the chosen organization with a note from you saying it is in honor of our friendship and association as musicians.

On a personal note, privately, I've sent a 2nd, much larger personal check to several of the groups identified previously by several friends here. This is personal and outside the scope of this joint project.

Hopefully, these small tokens will brighten the lives of some needy folks at the start of the year.

And, a sincere, personal word of thanks to those who have helped with this small but very personal project. It just makes me feel good that we're doing this together. I plan to keep this little effort going well into the future.

All the best to you and yours this holiday season, and to those people around the world who are not as fortunate as we are.


Russ

Russ....

Happy Holiday to you & yours....
I'm sure your donation is a small part of making the children very happy at the school here this season for sure.

Thank You

I hate to come off as some kind of do-gooder, but (inspired by Russ) my wife and I decided to do something different this holiday. On our last babysitting tour of duty, we couldn't help but notice that our two grands, ages 3 and 5, have like a gazillion dollars worth of toys of every type and description, filling both their bedrooms and their upstairs and downstairs playrooms (my son has a VERY large house).

With their parents approval, we decided to forgo giving them Xmas presents this year but instead, take them shopping for toys to give to a local children's shelter (actually, a shelter for homeless families with children). They picked all the presents (toys that they wanted for themselves) and then we took them to the shelter to deliver the toys. I'd like to think we taught them something about sharing but sadly, the three yr. old cried when he had to part with his . I'm sure it felt like me having to give my Nord C1 to a down-on-his-luck musician. I don't think any lessons were learned that day, but we felt like we'd at least tried. I've got a sneaky suspicion that they're still expecting something under the tree, so the concept may be lost on them at this age. We'll keep trying.

Happy holidays,

chas

[This message has been edited by cgiles (edited 12-19-2008).]

[This message has been edited by cgiles (edited 12-19-2008).]

[This message has been edited by cgiles (edited 12-19-2008).]

We all give in our own way, Chas...I find it is most rewarding when I can keep it to myself and share what I've done with no one.

The moment I tell anyone, it seems to ruin the good feeling...but that's a personal view.

I also think (and I'm certainly not a religious person in any way) that charity is meant for more than just the holiday season.

Ian

[This message has been edited by ianmcnll (edited 12-20-2008).]

Ian, I was just sharing a story about the uphill battle of trying to teach our grandkids the concept of giving instead of always taking. That's because over half of the board here are grandparents and I thought perhaps they could relate. I wasn't trying to self-nominate myself for the 'Mother Theresa' award. Sorry if it offended you.

chas

BTW, chas, you need a down and out musician to donate that C1 to, give me a call anytime...

I can be as down and out as you need me to be!

Seriously, it's wonderful what you are doing (both of you) and someone, somewhere IS taking note... (no, not the Dept. of Homeland Security )

Please don't take my post as being critical of your methods of charity, Chas...it wasn't meant that way.

As I began my post...we all give in our own way....I was merely describing my way as you did yours.

I think it's a wonderful thing you have done...and, I also think Russ is doing something terrific as well.

Peace to you over the holidays and the rest of the year.

Ian

While I can see where some people might take someone's 'announcing' that they've made a charitable contribution as that person calling attention to themselves, I see it more as perhaps a way to inspire others to do the same ... many of us have good intentions, but sometimes they don't get put into action ...
I'm not "blowing my own horn" either (hmmm ... I don't even have a horn )but I will say that this year our entire family has decided to cut way down on our own gift giving and provide more for local charities that help out those less fortunate ...
I'm not SAYING I might have been somewhat inspired by Russ, BUT ...

t.

Thank you again Russ,
Here is more info about St Jude Hospital.
St Jude Hospital is in Memphis, TN, not to far from you.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. St. Jude is the first and only pediatric cancer center to be designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute. Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance. No child is ever denied treatment because of the family's inability to pay. St. Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fundraising organization.
Here is their website in case you have a need for a child or a wish to help a child: http://www.stjude.org/stjude/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=f2bfab46cb118010VgnVCM1000000e2015acRCRD
Merry Christmas to all.
Bebop Bill

[This message has been edited by BEBOP (edited 12-19-2008).]

That's a very big assumption that there are those who would take things that way, Tony, and it is hardly fair to Russ and Chas to even imply people would think that way about their honorable intentions.

Ian

I merely think that if members took their time to READ what they post, check it for grammatical and contextual correctness, and proof read it to check what COULD be read into their statements, we'd get a LOT less crossed wires on this forum.

But hey! Who the heck has time to even WRITE English correctly any more? So many spellcheckers, so little time!

Most posts on this forum would make our English teachers cringe, and get an 'F' across the board, and then we act surprised when others DON'T get our point, or even completely misconstrue it

I can only hope we pay more attention to communicating with music than we do with English! OTOH, I've heard SOME demos here that lead me to believe not...

I think that ANYONE who gives to charity at ANYTIME of the year is doing a very good thing and it will surely be appreciated.

Having been orphaned at three years old, and then losing the people who adopted me when I was 15 as the result of a car accident on Christmas Eve, I do have more than a little experience with poverty and doing without.

It was because of charitable people very similar to Russell (and Chas, too) that I was able to get some much needed help and be allowed to do something with my life.

It's too bad that assumptions about a poster's intentions are so easily made, but the written word sometimes fails to convey meanings that would be much better understood if we were all speaking in person.

Peace to all.

Ian

Ian ... I was replying to YOUR post, in which it seemed that YOU were saying it's better to keep it to ourselves "I find it is most rewarding when I can keep it to myself and share what I've done with no one."

I MOST CERTAINLY KNOW that chas and Russ do it with only the most honorable intentions, and as I said, have even inspired me to be more generous.

Please read my post again... and if I misread yours, I apologize ...
MERRY CHRISTMAS,

t.

ABSOLUTELY RIGHT ... and perhaps we BOTH were guilty this time ... no harm intended ...
t.



[This message has been edited by tony mads usa (edited 12-20-2008).]

Ian, Tony, and everyone else, I'm not all that honorable (ask my wife).......BUT, I want my grandkids to be. This was just about trying to teach them that life is not always about being on the receiving end (something I felt that their parents hadn't properly conveyed). Looking back, if I had to grade them, the 5yr.old would have gotten a 'D', the 3yr.old, a flat-out 'F'. Oh well, I'll keep trying, despite their lousy parents .

chas

Folks, I just looked back at all the posts I have made about this little project, and I don't like what I see. It absolutely looks like I'm trying to toot my own horn, and for that, I'm sorry. I was so excited to get friends I don't get to physically see to work on something meaningful together, and to include as many as possible, that I went way beyond the irritation factor, and that certainly wasn't the intent.

I now have the names of 12 worthy causes submitted by my friends here. What I'm going to do is send a check every month to one of these causes. That means each will get one a year, which will be much larger than the original $100.00 one. I'll keep it up for the forseeable future. With each check, I'll think kindly of the member here who took the time to identify the charity and feel good about our joint effort. It's just time for all my "rants ansd raves" to stop.

All the best to all my good friends here.

You are important to me.


Russ

Russ... there is ABSOLUTELY NO NEED for you to apologize for anything, and I hope it wasn't my post that made any one think that ...
Actually, while quiet giving is always wonderful, I think it is important for people to be reminded that most of us could be doing something more, and if hearing about other people's actions inspires that, then I think it's wonderful ...
I personally like to hear especially about celebs who donate money and time and effort to worthwhile causes ...

Merry Christmas,
t.

Well, we might get FEWER crossed wires, and the English teachers wouldn't get the F's.

But I do agree completely. Our forum members are probably far better than the U.S. population in general. Sports announcers and newscasters are my pet peeves. How many times have we heard "whether or not" or "the reason why" and other such redundancies? It's one thing to hurriedly post on a forum, but far more important to speak to millions of t.v. viewers, including many children, and constantly abuse the language.

DonM, Journalism major from a former century

Don...you hit on one of my "hot" buttons. The one that really gets me is the use of personifications...."This factory makes...", "He was killed by a gun"...or "car"...similar English structure "no-no's". Factories don't make anything. Guns can't kill anybody. Neither do cars. Some of the worst violators of proper structure rules are staff writers at PBS. Local news is often a joke. Sports "journalists" are a national embarrasment.

So sad, and really bothers another "dinosaur" journalist.

"It just ain't good writin'"!

R.

Chas, how can you not give some toys to the 3 and 5 year old.......they may learn the wrong lesson

They learned it was nice to give to other kids....but not at their expense....they are too little for that lesson....

BTW:. I could use a 33 pound dual manual organ for New Years eve gig...and maybe the Jam coming up...I will promise to send it back to you after the jam......now there is a lesson to learn here..

Fran, actually I caved. My wife and I just got back from toys-r-us and will be spending the evening wrapping their presents (well, until the football game comes on). BTW, as much as it pains me, I've given up on the IGGLES. Jeez.




I have already learned that lesson, PAINFULLY. However, Ian has volunteered to tape together two Yamaha EZ200's for you. That should be even lighter. Plus, the keys light up as you play them. That should wow the ladies.



chas

Russ,

Thank you for making my day. I glanced at your posting very briefly this morning before I started my day.

I was in my usual "after reading the daily newspaper" mood of somewhere between pessimism and hopelessness, when your message came through like a second sunrise.

My immediate thought was: "Hey Lucky, there are some decent people left in the world. They just don't let you know that they are "decent!" Russ thankfully DID!

I'm going to have to go on a "12 step program" to wean me off of newspapers and TV news and reality shows!"

Lucky