It’s impossible not to admire John Blackwell and his family’s resolve to use the heartbreaking loss of their precious 2-year-old daughter, Jia, as the basis for establishing a program at the Berklee College of Music, John’s alma mater, which will benefit young women who are studying how to make the world more beautiful through music.

I can think of no better way for each of us to thank John -- for his peerless musicianship and his generosity of spirit throughout the Musicology Tour -- than by honoring his family’s loss with a generous contribution to the Jia Blackwell Memorial Scholarship Fund.

If you agree, you’ll be glad to know that giving just got very easy. Berklee has established a secure online channel for credit card (VISA or MasterCard) donations. For access, go to the Berklee homepage: www.berklee.edu.

From there, click on the Giving to Berklee link in the left-hand column. (Or, use the Jump To function to scroll down to Giving to Berklee and then click on Go.)

Either path leads to the Giving to Berklee page. There, click on Give Online. This takes you to the electronic donation form.. As you complete the form, you’ll be prompted to designate a Program to which your tax-deductible contribution should be directed. Use the Scroll Down function to select the Jia Blackwell Memorial Scholarship Fund. You can arrange for your credit card to be debited in one lump sum. Alternatively, you can arrange for quarterly or monthly donations to the fund via your credit card. These latter alternatives allow you to commit to being very generous now, even if – like me -- you’re budgeting for the next leg of the Musicology Tour.

How much is appropriate to donate? That depends on you. When you truly commit from the heart, you won’t be surprised at how generous a tax-deductible contribution you can afford.

If you’ve got children and can relate to the Blackwell family’s loss in a way that only a parent can, consider turning the act of donating into a bonding experience through which your children can learn about positive ways to deal with loss.

John Blackwell’s contributions on drums to the dazzling showmanship of the New Power Generation cannot be overstated. Now’s the time for each of us to make a statement to John that shows our appreciation.

I just did and I feel great!

Spread the love. Spread the word. Act now.
[Edited 10/20/04 10:22am]

How do you nominate posts for a "sticky" at the top of the page? This needs a higher profile!

Max

Igo2DaMax said:

done....

and yes..

Here's a shortcut from our friends at Housequake -- http://www.berklee.edu/giving/default.html

Information about tickets to the December 11th fund-raising concert in Boston coming soon.


Under discussion, specially priced tickets that permit access to a meet-n-greet with the artists.

Now, if we could only convince you-know-who to become one of those artists and to throw a fund-raising AfterConcert, 'ey?

[Edited 10/10/04 6:11am]
[Edited 10/10/04 11:05am]

My source tells me that negotiations are underway to include a certain Philadelphia songstress on the bill for the December 11th Scholarship Fund concert -- someone with whom John has a pre-NPG musical association. [If you need any additional hints, you're probably convinced that Saddam is still hiding WMD.] As soon as the [non-WMD] situation is resolved, ticket information will be forthcoming.

Also, the notion of a 2-tiered pricing scheme, with access to the artists reserved only for premium ticket holders, appears to be going by the wayside.

Stay tuned.

Any word on the concert yet?

CJBabyDaddy said:

I was expecting word from Berklee last week. I left a message with my contact there yesterday and expect to know something shortly. I'll report back ASAP.