Donate Music to Katrina's Kids

"last week a bunch of hurricane survivors got transferred to my school. there's so many! i have like one in each of my classes. i was talking to a girl from new orleans in government friday, and i couldn't believe what she was saying. about 5 of her friends have died, and here i was worried about my algebra2 homework. it makes you realize how much you have to be thankful for."

You hear about the elderly and the sick and the babies. but i hadn't really thought about displaced teenagers. my teenage years were the hardest years of my life and the years where my friends and my possessions meant so so so much to me. so i have an idea...but i am going to need help because i am going to europe in a week.

now that so many of us have ipods, who has discmen and walkmen and boomboxes and stereo and cassettes and cds lying around that we don't use anymore?

let's start a music donation program.

we all know music heals.

now, check this out. my friend sheila is in texas and she has been volunteering at the astrodome. she is willing to have cds, cassettes, walkmen, portable cd players, boomboxes, and headphones sent to her house. she will organize a team of kids in her area to distribute these things to teenage survivors of the hurricane who have been relocated to the astrodome and transferred to schools down there.

so please, go through your music collections and your closets and find things that are collecting dust. so many of us have upgraded our music players and lost interest in things we used to listen to. i think it would be okay to donate burned cds and mixtapes too. ask your friends to donate stuff. ask local stores to donate stuff. maybe you don't have a cd player but maybe you could spare $10 to send a gift card. ask bands you know to donate some of their albums. ask record labels to make donations.

i can't imagine being a teenager and going through tough times without my music.

and i am just imagining having my cat die without listening to sting. or being too shy to talk to ed without being able to listen to debbie gibson. or being pissed off about having to clean my room without having a suicidal tendencies cd to throw stuff around to. or driving around aimlessly without the violent femmes. or ending a fight with my brother without blasting metallica.

imagine losing your home, all of your possessions, and members of your family, some of your friends...and just sitting in a strange place. being told you can't go back AT LEAST for 2 months, but maybe FOREVER.

it might help a little to put on some headphones and escape.

so please help in any way you can. feel free to donate money too. this way if sheila and her friends meet anyone with a request for an album they are desperate to own again they can go get them a copy.

you can send your donations to:

 Sheila Jozami
 11423 Birchwood
 Humble, TX
 77338

Sheila and her friends are volunteering at the Astrodome and will distribute donations to teens relocated there and to other locations in the Houston area.

and

Daniel Hyde Schexnaydre
 17120 Hwy 73
 Prairieville, LA
 70769

Daniel is a student at a Baton Rouge high school that has gotten 300 new students in the past week. He will distribute music directly to new students at his school. You can also contact him at starsandlemonade@hotmail.com about booking house shows.

and

Lauren Culwell
 923 W Sycamore #11
 Denton, TX
 76201

Lauren is a good friend of mine who will be distributing donations to teens who have been relocated to the Denton/Dallas area.

Carmen is willing to have people in Europe ship donations to her in Germany
 and she will put together big packages and pay shipping to the United
 States!!!

Carmen Gottschall
 Ederstrasse 3
 63303 Dreieich
 Germany

Her email address is cargo78@gmx.de

for more info:
reliefthroughmusic@gmail.com

links:
http://www.secondharvest.org
http://www.hurricanehousing.org
http://www.airamericaradio.com

- Kimya Dawson