On the road: outreach and action with Lokahi

Austin City Limit volunteers needed!

2011-09-13T17:16:00.000-07:00

Once again we'll be taking the Arcade Fire Haiti Campaign out to a big music festival, and we are looking for some PIH, Kanpe and Haiti supporters who would like to volunteer a few hours of their weekend in exchange for some cool Arcade Fire merch!

This is a volunteer opportunity open to those who already have tickets to and are going to be attending Austin City Limits this weekend!

Here is how it works: You sign up for 2 two hour 'shifts', learn about PIH and Kanpe, spend some time talking to your fellow ACL fans about the important work these organizations do, earn some good karma, AND get an AF Haiti tee-shirt and a chance to win an autographed AF set list all in exchange for your good will!

Sign up below for more info!

Already attending Outside Lands? Want to volunteer for Arcade Fire Haiti while you are there?

2011-08-09T16:56:00.000-07:00

This is a volunteer opportunity open to those who already have tickets to and are going to be attending Outside Lands.

Here is how it works: You sign up for 2 two hour 'shifts', learn about PIH and Kanpe, spend some time talking to your fellow Outside Land fans about the important work these organizations do, earn some good karma, AND get an AF Haiti tee-shirt, an AF poster and a chance to win an autographed AF set list all in exchange for your good will!

Getting involved is easy: sign up below, and we'll follow up with more info on Thursday. Hope to see you in SF!

Sign up here:

Updates from the Brad Paisley tour!

2011-08-09T15:32:00.000-07:00

The Brad Paisley H2O II tour has been going strong, and Water = Hope has had a lot of success along the way!

We’ve made stops in 14 different cities now, have talked to over 4,000 people about clean water issues and worked with close to 100 volunteers in the process. And we are well on our way with our fundraising goals, using our time on the road this summer to once again involve the country fan community in bringing clean water to communities in need.

This past weekend we made two stops: Chicago and Columbus. Chicago saw our biggest volunteer crew yet, with 17 people joining us, some of whom drove from as far away as Milwaukee to be a part of the action. The team did great - it was our biggest night ever on the Paisley tour.

Columbus had smaller team, but they were very committed and ready to work! The torrential downpour of rain right when the doors opened didn’t even slow them down - they kept right on talking to people that had taken cover in some of the covered areas of the arena!

Our volunteers reflect the diversity of support that surrounds the clean water movement: last weekend alone with had students, retirees, non-profit executives, huge Brad Paisley fans, huge water.org fans, and a long time supporter of Senator Frist (co-founder of Water = Hope) among many others. It’s always exciting to see how issues such as this unite people in one common goal.

We are also pleased to see a lot of ‘return support’ on the tour itself; many fans have told us they supported the campaign last year, and are eager to do so again, buying a new shirt, signing up friends and family for more information, taking our info cards for classrooms, and so on.

We have five more stops ahead, Florida, Philly, DC and Raleigh. You can still sign up to volunteer, and if at one of the shows, be sure to stop by the Water = Hope tent to learn about how your support can enter you into a raffle to win an autographed Gibson guitar from Brad!

Summer Volunteering Newsletter

2011-05-31T18:46:00.000-07:00

In case you missed it in your email today!

Summer Volunteering!

Summer is almost here, and volunteer opportunities are everywhere! We are looking for volunteers to join us all across the US and Europe this summer as we work with lots of very cool bands and campaigns!

 Some of you might have already signed up for some of our summer shows - a big thanks, and do know we’ll be in contact with you soon if you have! If you have not yet had a chance to check out what we are up to, read on - lots of great opportunities to do good and check out some shows in the process!

Benefits of volunteering

Volunteering has lots of perks: doing good for your community, learning about an issue or organization, meeting new people with like minded passions, getting trained on organizing methods. If you are a student, it’s also a great way to earn community service credits (and yes, we can validate those for you!); and yes, volunteering on our campaigns generally always involves a free concert too!

Women for Women International

We are very excited to be working with Women for Women, and amazing grassroots organization dedicated to empowering women globally through micro lending.

We’ll be taking Women for Women out to Bonnaroo with us this year, and need some unique help for the festival: we have 6 or so BONNARROO PASSES and CAMPING spots available for some dedicated volunteers! In exchange for these passes and camping spots, you’ll need to be willing to work at least 16 hours with us - just four hours each day, which leaves plenty of time to check out music and the festival! - and provide for your own transportation to and from the festival, as well as your camping set up. If you are already attending Bonnaroo on your own ticket, and would like to sign up for one of our four hour volunteer spots (spread out throughout the festival weekend) in exchange for some cool W4W merch and good karma, you can do that as well!

Bonnaroo is a lot of fun, a great community - if you are interested, please fill out our online application here, or email us.

Arcade Fire and Haiti

We are still out on the road with Arcade Fire, building support for Partners in Health, Kanpe and Haiti. We just wrapped up a really amazing spring leg of the tour (check out our photos and blog!) and are about to head off for a string of festivals and shows in Europe. If you are in Europe (or will be visiting this summer!) get signed up here to volunteer!

Water = Hope and Brad Paisley

Brad Paisley is bringing back his H20 Tour again this summer, and we are going to be back out on the road with him! Last summer, we were able to build enough support and raise enough money to build FOUR wells; 100% funded by country music fans, which is quite awesome! We are looking for a repeat performance this year, and need your help to make it happen! Check out our Water = Hope website for more information and to get signed up!

We are also taking Water = Hope to Bonnaroo this year, and likewise have a few passes for camping volunteers, and are looking for help from those that are already attending. Learn more about it here.

Dispatch and Amplifying Education

We are very proud to be working with Dispatch on their summer tour! They are running a very cool campaign called Amplifying Education featuring information about organizations like City Year and Teach for America. Learn more and sign up to volunteer at a show by visiting their website: www.amplifyingeducation.com

Festivals!

In addition to Bonnaroo, we’ll be out at Outside Lands and Austin City Limits this year; stay tuned to more information on those!

Still looking for more? Our friends at HeadCount and Reverb also are on the road the summer, looking for some volunteers to help them out!

Keep in Touch

Be sure to ‘like’ us on Facebook - it’s one of the best ways of staying current on what volunteer opportunities are happening. You can also follow me on Twitter for ‘on the road’ updates and the like!

Thanks again for your ongoing support - we all hope to see some of you at our shows this summer. Spots fill fast, so get signed up today!

-Brande

Volunteers needed for Women for Women at Bonnaroo!

2011-05-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

In addition to Water = Hope, we are excited to be bringing Women for Women International to the very first Bonnaroo as well!

We will need volunteers to help us in this effort of spreading the word about the amazing work W4W does to Bonnaroo fans. We have 6 passes for Bonnaroo that INCLUDE camping, and are also looking for volunteers that are already attending the festival that would like to donate four hours of their time to an amazing grassroots organizations.

Click on the link to our sign up page to apply for a volunteer spot, and feel free to email us for more information.

Sign up to volunteer!

Thanks!

Water = Hope at Bonnaroo!

2011-05-26T17:57:00.000-07:00

In addition to being on the road with Brad Paisley this summer, Water = Hope is also going to be at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester TN this June!

We need some volunteers to help us - read below for more info, but we have some volunteer spots that include passes and camping at the festival, and some that are for supporters that already have tickets but want to come help out for a few hours in exchange for some cool new W=H merch, and of course, good karma!

The festival runs from Thursday, June 9 - Sunday, June 12th.

VOLUNTEERING INFO

1. We have a handful of volunteer spots that INCLUDE a festival pass and camping. In exchange for this volunteers MUST:

*figure out their own transportation to and from the festival; we can not help with this

*commit to volunteering a total of 16 hours over the festival: four hours each on Th, F, S and Sun

In addition to the pass and camping spot, volunteers will also get our new W=H shirt and a W=H poster and plenty of time to check out the bands playing the festivals! These spots are SUPER limited - if you are interested, get signed up asap, and be sure to explain WHY you want to volunteer! We are especially interested in coordinating this in groups - if you have a group of 2 or 3 (or more) people that can do this, sign up and mention that under 'why you want volunteer'.

2. We also have a cool program for Water = Hope supporters that are already attending the festival. We are asking volunteers to sign up for two 2 hour shifts; volunteering a total of 4 hours over the three day festival. In exchange for that, volunteers get one of our very cool new W=H shirts, and W=H poster and a chance to win in some cool contests we are kicking off!

Visit our website for more info on what volunteers do; primarily, you’ll be going around and about, talking to your fellow Bonnaroo fans about clean water issues and Water = Hope. It’s a great way to build support, a lot of fun and you can also sign up with friends to work together.

The sign up form is below; we are limited in the number of volunteers we can accept for this project, so if you want in, sign up soon! If you are signing up for one of our four hour shifts, you need to select one half hour orientation session, then two ‘shifts’ that work best for you.

We’ll be following up with everyone who signs up with more information. Thanks!

*once you hit submit, form will say it's 'loading' then go blank - don't worry, it means we have your info!

Coachella volunteers needed!

2011-04-07T11:47:00.000-07:00

Coachella!

Arcade Fire Haiti will be set up talking to fans all three days (April 15th - April 17th) at Coachella this year. We need volunteers to help us out!

Here’s the deal: unfortunately, we do NOT have any passes for volunteers that do not already have tickets to the festival. However, we DO have a cool program for Partners in Health supporters and Arcade Fire fans that are already attending the festival. We are asking volunteers to sign up for two 2 hour shifts; volunteering a total of 4 hours over the three day festival. In exchange for that, volunteers get one of our very cool new PIH Arcade Fire shirts, and AF poster and a chance to win an autographed set list from the band’s Coachella performance!

Visit our website to get signed up!

Read below for more info on what volunteers do; primarily, you’ll be going around and about, talking to your fellow Coachella fans about Haiti and Partners in Health. It’s a great way to build support, a lot of fun and you can also sign up with friends to work together.

Visit our website to get signed up; we are limited in the number of volunteers we can accept for this project, so if you want in, sign up soon! You need to select one half hour orientation session, then two ‘shifts’ that work best for you.

We’ll be following up with everyone who signs up with more information.

Arcade Fire update

2011-04-02T21:47:00.000-07:00

April 2nd: Emails to volunteers that have spots for the first few shows will go out on Sunday and Monday. We apologize for the delay, and a big thank you for your support and patience. A HUGE thanks to everyone who has signed and shown interest in volunteering thus far!

**All shows have had more sign ups than we have spots for!**

To be put on our volunteer list for future shows in these areas, use this form.

A HUGE thanks to all of you that have signed up and shown an interest in volunteering; we wish we could find a way to get a spot for everyone! It has been so encouraging to see such support for this campaign.

More info soon - and watch for updates from our first show in Denver, one week from today!

Build support for clean water this summer!

2011-03-29T10:38:00.001-07:00

Interested in clean water issues? We are taking part in a very cool campaign this summer and would love to have volunteers join us!

We'll be partnering with Brad Paisley to bring the message of clean water to country fans across the country.

Visit the Water = Hope website to learn more and get signed up!

AF volunteering update

2011-03-28T10:38:00.001-07:00

A big thanks to everyone who has signed up to volunteer thus far! We'll be in touch soon.

We still need more volunteers for the following shows:

Denver, Utah, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Phoenix, Santa Fe, and Memphis.
 
We are still taking sign ups for ALL shows, though the Texas shows are looking close to full - you can still be put on the wait list though!

Visit our AF Volunteer website for more info and to get signed up!

Brad Paisley and the H2O tour 2011!

2011-03-22T09:25:00.000-07:00

We are very excited to be partnering with Water = Hope and Hope Through Healing Hands on the Brad Paisley on his H2O tour again this summer! Last year, Lokahi helped develop the Water = Hope campaign, and took the idea on the road, educating tens of thousands of country music fans about clean water issues, working with hundreds of volunteers across the nation, and raising enough donations to build wells in Africa!

Once again, we'll be taking to the road, talking to country fans all over the US about the importance of clean water and the role they can play in bringing water to millions of people around the globe. Last year, from the support of country fans across the nation, our partner Hope Through Healing Hands built three wells in Liberia, Uganda, and Ethiopia and installed water purification systems in homes lacking access to water in Appalachia. This year, we hope to build more wells and service more homes for families to have clean, safe water at home and around the world.

We can't do this with out your support - we need to volunteers to join us again this summer! Volunteers get an amazing opportunity to engage in important water issues, inspire fellow fans, and check out a Brad Paisley concert!

Learn more and get signed up today!

Visit our photos and blog to learn about the work we did with Brad on the 2010 H2O tour.

Arcade Fire volunteers needed!

2011-03-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

Arcade Fire is about to hit the road again, and volunteers are needed in:
Denver, SLC, Phoenix, Vegas, Santa Fe, Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago, Indy, Austin, Houston and Dallas. Volunteers might also be needed for Coachella - more info on that soon!

Visit the Arcade Fire Volunteer page for more info. You can sign up there, or using the form below!

We hope to see you at a show soon!

Volunteer survey!

2011-01-03T15:04:00.001-08:00

If you volunteered with us on our Arcade Fire our Brad Paisley tour last year, we'd love to get your feedback and input.

Click here to take our survey - many thanks in advance for doing so!

Dublin and the UK

2010-12-13T13:20:00.000-08:00

The second half of the tour has been spent in the UK and Ireland. We hit up London first, two big shows at the O2 arena. Our volunteers both nights came out and braved some pretty nasty weather and even nastier transportation problems to join us! The shows were a blast, really supportive, friendly fans, and our volunteers worked like crazy (and went up and down lots and lots of stairs) to talk to as many people as they could.

We moved onto Dublin from there, and I quickly learned why the band loves playing shows there so much! The crowds there were rowdy, but fun and supportive - some of our best nights on the whole tour were during our two nights in Dublin, in fact! Because of the layout, we set up three mini tables spread throughout the O2; our volunteer team really went above and beyond, with some of them staffing the tables, and the rest really working the floor; one volunteer signed up over 200 people on her own, which was really incredible! Our team in Dublin was a lot of fun: students, the brother of a volunteer from Madrid who does music therapy and his co-worker (they joined us straight from playing at a retirement home, ties still on!), former volunteers... as always, the amazing list can go on and on! We also had Shane join us, who works at Google Dublin.

Shane and I had been coresponding via email for a few weeks, as he was working to raise money for PIH at work ahead of the show, and he asked if I’d like to come speak to the Google team at his office. I asked Marika and Regine if they’d like to join, and the three of us went to Google Dublin on Monday and found a receptive audience of a few hundred staffers (and we later found out they recorded it to share company wide!) waiting to hear us talk about PIH, Haiti, and individual actions people can take to engage and make their own unique impact. It was a lot of fun, the team at Google was great, and we even got treated to lunch in their cafeteria!

After Dublin, the tour moved into Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester and Glasgow for our final week. Our English crews in these cities were FANTASTIC - we got so much support for what we are doing from UK fans, it’s really unbelievable! A big shout out has to go to team Birmingham; though our smallest team in size, six amazing people, they nonetheless had the highest average of sign ups & conversations per volunteer than ANY of our other teams (and we had some really hard working impressive teams!), with each volunteer engaging with an average of 84 fans! That also means they won our ‘friendly competition’ among European cities to see which team could do that, so they’ll have a little Arcade Fire thank you gift coming in the mail soon!

All in all, it’s been an incredible run; 14 cities, 143 volunteers, tens of thousands of fans talked to, and hopefully even more inspired by our volunteers, the band, and PIH.

Germany!

2010-11-30T20:15:00.000-08:00

Munich and Dussledorf and our German volunteers did not let us down, braving snow storms, cold weather and crazy transportation problems to join us!

Our Munich show was similar in set up to our Lyon one - a former warehouse or factory of some sort, cool looking. Volunteer Team Munich included several students - philosophy, American Studies, graphic design and architecture, to name a few! - a former UN worker now getting his MA in Germany, a trade lawyer and a former PIH volunteer from the Neon Bible tour in 2007, something we LOVE to have happen! They worked like crazy, talking to hundreds of their peers in what quickly became a very cramped venue.

We rolled into Dussledorf the next day and quickly got to work setting up. Our volunteers all arrived ready to get to work talking to fans - so much so in fact that I never even got a big group photo of them all, they took off the second the doors open, eager to talk to people! Our team consisted of a lot of students, and another former volunteer from the last tour. They hit the ground running and never stopped, getting lots of support for Kanpe and PIH along the way.

All in all Germany showed us a lot of support, with thousands of fans talking to our volunteers and signing our Stand with Haiti petition!

France

2010-11-27T13:11:00.000-08:00

The Arcade Fire tour moved into France this past week, with dates in Marseille and Lyon.

We started out the week with only a handful of volunteers in Marseille; not sure entirely why, but I started to really work our social networks, and also asked the volunteers that had already signed up to help me in recruiting more people to join us. By show date, we had a full crew - I’m always so grateful for all of the work our volunteers do, esp when they rally together at the last minute for us, such as in this case!

We were joined as always by a diverse crew, including a teacher, several students, two mobile app developers and a public health worker. The team did great, giving us our best night on the tour thus far! All night they talked to fans, really focusing on getting them excited and inspired by what Kanpe and PIH are doing. As with most of our trainings, Marika came out and joined us to talk about the band’s involvement and support for these campaigns - her help was especially appreciated at these two shows given her fluency (and my lack of) in French! Our volunteers have all for the most part been bi-lingual, so no big issues there, but it’s always great to have someone else on hand who can help with translations. Team Marseille did really great - they signed up almost 20% of the audience in attendance than night (a pretty impressive feat for ten people to accomplish!), which in turn means that they talked to and inspired hundreds of people!

After a day off (and a band/crew ‘Thanksgiving Dinner’ in France) we moved onto Lyon. The venue was really cool - I was told it was an old meatpacking warehouse. Team Lyon came in ready to work; I found them all gathered together ready to go at the meeting time, and I assumed most of them already knew each other since they were chatting away. As it would turn out, they just found each other, and were excited, and started to talking to one another outside in the cold - I always love to see teams form a bond like that at the get go, they were such a cute group!

 They worked like crazy too - it seems each show we do, the more people we end up talking to! They all stayed for a long time after the show ended as well, talking to fans for nearly an hour - it was a pretty crazy end of the night in Lyon!

The tour moves into Germany next, hoping it’s not too cold!

PIH and Kanpe in Spain with Arcade Fire!

2010-11-24T04:41:00.001-08:00

The European leg of the Arcade Fire tour started up with two dates in Spain this past weekend, building support for Haiti, Kanpe, Partners in Health along with way!

Day one in Madrid: Palacio De Los Deportes sits in the middle of Madrid, flanked by a lovely plaza that quickly filled with fans lining up early to get a good spot on the floor. This was going to be a big show, nearly 15,000, and we were excited to get going!

As always, we were joined with an amazing crew of volunteers. Several were students at an American University in Madrid - and a big thanks to Maya O’Cadiz for helping us to recruit for this first show! We were also joined by teachers, musicians, community members and business professionals - all committed to the idea of helping Haiti forge a prosperous future. After a brief talk from Marika on behalf of the band, the crew got to work practicing how they were going to explain the work of PIH and Kanpe to fans. Once the doors opened, they hit the ground running, having nearly 600 conversations about Haiti in just under two hours - very impressive! A big thanks to our Madrid team - Neil, Andreas, Joseph, Maya, Susan, Stephanie, Didier, Diarmuid, Leticia, Bruno, Stephen, Curry, Ray, and Madelyn - for getting our tour off to a great start!

We arrive in Barcelona late - at least in tour terms! - the next morning. Palau Sant Jordi has an incredible view of the city and the sea from the top floor, where we were lucky to set up our Kanpe table! We were joined by a smaller but mighty crew of volunteers that night: Ines, Andrea, Patricia, Marina and Maribel who did a fantastic job and managed to talk to and inspire lots and lots of fans! It’s so exciting to see people really check out our set up, read about Kanpe and PIH and tell us about their own connection to Haiti or other parts of the world, or their desire to become engaged and involved.

As an added bonus, Regine and the band are still writing out and autographing set lists every night to give away to PIH/Kanpe supporters as well!

Our nights in Spain provided a great preview of the weeks to come as the tour moves into France, Germany, Ireland and the UK. We can’t wait to talk to and inspire fans across Europe about what they can do to support Haiti!

Volunteers needed for Arcade Fire shows in Europe!

2010-11-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

Update Nov 8th: All of the UK and Ireland shows are pretty much full at this point, but feel free to sign up to be added to a wait list. We DO still need more volunteers for our Spain, France and esp German shows - please forward this link on to anyone that you think would be interested. Thanks for the great response so far - we'll be in touch with all of you soon!

We are about to head back out with Arcade Fire, this time to the UK and Europe, continuing to build support for Haiti and the important work that Kanpe and Partners In Health are doing.

We need volunteers to join us to make it a success! Volunteering is an amazing opportunity - in a matter of hours, you can talk to hundreds of people about the incredible work these organizations are doing, inspire them, and get them involved. And yes, you might even get to see an awesome concert in exchange for your hard work!

We need volunteers in Nov and Dec in Spain, France, Germany, UK, and Ireland.

Sign up below, or visit our Arcade Fire volunteer page to learn more, and please pass this on to anyone you may know that would be interested in joining in and helping out!

H2O Tour Wraps Up!

2010-10-02T12:23:00.000-07:00

The H2O tour has wrapped up its summer run, and Lokahi is proud to have partnered with the Water = Hope campaign to build lots of support for clean water issues amongst country fans!

Our final two weeks on the tour were a bit of a whirlwind, with stops in San Francisco, San Diego, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Boise, Salt Lake City and Denver. Along the way, as always, we were joined by some amazing volunteers!

San Francisco and San Diego brought out lots of veteran volunteers, many of whom worked with us on tours with the ONE Campaign in years past – it was great to see familiar faces like Rochelle, Mary and Christine – all of whom were among the first ONE volunteers we ever worked with! It was a lot of fun to get to talk to so many fans while in California. From there, we moved on to Phoenix, where we were amazed to learn it can be over 100 degrees in September, go figure! We were joined by a massive crew of volunteers, including some veterans from our work on the Warped Tour and with Dave Matthews, and lots of new volunteers from local high schools and colleges as well. Albuquerque proved to be one of the best nights on the entire tour; we were joined by an AWESOME team of volunteers: college students and high school students and community members who all are passionate about clean water issues. We had one of our best nights of the entire tour in Albuquerque, a direct result of our awesome volunteer team! We also met author Sandra Postel who has written extensively about clean water issues; she was in the crowd and saw our PSA show on stage before the show, and came out to find us! You can learn more about her here.

As we headed out for out the very final weekend of the tour, we made our first stop in Boise, Idaho. After an eventful first couple of hours (including trying to track down our missing tour bus!!), we met our awesome volunteer crew for the night. The venue that we were at was on the Boise State campus, so we weren’t surprised that we had many dedicated BSU do-gooders! We had Katelyn and Daniel, freshman year roommates who actually went to their dorm and signed-up their whole floor, as Tara with her friend, as well as a couple other students. We also had a mother with her three daughters who were huge Brad Paisley fans and did awesome throughout the night!! All in all it was a great first night back, thanks to all the cool people and Water = Hope supporters that Boise had to offer.

After a three AM bus visit from Easton Corbin and his crew due to their bus breaking down, we landed in Salt Lake City and met our one man volunteer crew for the night. Josh, who had just moved to SLC recently to pursue his love of skiing, worked by himself and helped get the majority of our sign-ups for the night. He is really dedicated to volunteer work, and expressed over and over how much he really liked Water = Hope’s vision and goals. It was great working with him and we are so thankful to him for helping us out in Utah!

Next we were off to Denver, Colorado, a bit unhappily because it would be Water = Hope’s last night working with the tour. We weren’t ready for it to end! However we couldn’t have ended the whole journey with a better crew, twelve dedicated and hardworking individuals who agreed that we should end it all with a bang! We had a group of four people that came individually and throughout the night bonded over the Water = Hope work, and they ended up leaving as friends after watching the show together. Then we had our basketball girls, who all played together on the local high school team. Michaela, Lindsay, Bree and a few friends worked the entire night to get those donations and raised almost two hundred dollars between them, as well as getting a ton of signatures. All you Colorado-ians were so supportive of Water = Hope and we had such a huge amount of people walking up to the table that we could barely talk to all of you! In between watching the crew play pranks on the artists as they performed and watching the donations pile up, I think everyone agreed that we had a great last night in Denver!

After four months of weekends full of talking to fans about clean water in 33 different cities, we are proud to announce that Water = Hope hit our goal of raising $20,000 to build wells, and signed up nearly 14,000 people in support of the Simon Water for the World Act. Perhaps more importantly, this means that some 14,000 conversations about clean water happened over this summer between our volunteers & campaign team and the fans in each city, and we can only hope that some of those 14,000 people are going to share that message, get inspired to volunteer themselves or even lead clean water initiatives in their own communities.

None of this would be possible without the hard work and help of the 239 volunteers that joined us this summer; they inspired us night after night with their dedication – again, a HUGE thank you to all of you that joined us! We are proud to know that they’ll take what they learned and work to inspire thousands more this fall and spring on their campuses and their communities so that we can bring clean water to even more people.

Water = Hope and Lokahi truly believe in this idea of ‘a small drop making a big ripple’; the work of our volunteers and the fans that supported the campaign this summer is all the evidence that we need.

Keep checking in for more campaign updates and ways you can get involved; visit the Water = Hope/Hope Through Healing Hands Facebook page to stay updated, and check out all of our pictures from the summer!

Water = Hope in Washington!

2010-09-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

We just finished another fun weekend on the road with Brad Paisley and the H20 Tour, making stops in Spokane, Portland and the Gorge!

We started our weekend off in Spokane with some great volunteer help: college students, a high school student and parents involved with a local home schooling organization all came out to lend a hand, doing a great job and signing up lots of new supporters for the Water = Hope campaign!

Our next stop was in Portland, where, after a summer of blazing heat and humidity, we were shocked to find ourselves...cold! Once again we were joined by an awesome volunteer crew: Chris just moved to Portland where he is soon to be joining the Portland Fire Department (congrats Chris!), and he was joined by Danielle, who is in nursing school in San Francisco but was visiting the Portland area. Ryan and Sarah are both students - Ryan is in med school, in fact!

And we also had Kate joining us, who literally just moved to Portland the week before to attend college, and was looking for volunteer opportunities to get involved in her community. All of our crew did a great job in Portland, roaming the lawn area and talking to fans about the campaign, gaining their support. Though it was a smaller show, Portland showed us lots of love and support and we are excited to continue our organizing efforts in the community.

Next up was the Gorge, located in the middle of Washington state, and quite possibly the most beautiful music venue in all of America. We were way excited to be working there, and it was a HUGE show, with more fans in attendance than almost any other show we’d been at! We were joined that night by Randy and Kim, a husband and wife team who had tickets to the show but wanted to help out. They came in went to work, signing up well over 100 new supporters in a short amount of time, talking to lots and lots of fans before joining their son and mom (or mom-in-law!) in their seats. They also made a very generous donation to Water = Hope, helping us reach our well building goal all that much faster, for which we are most appreciative!

We were also joined by our two recent Washington State U grads (a big Washington U rival game was going on that night, and, depending on who they talked to, they either got lots of love for their hoodies, or a lot of grief!) who were eager to get involved, and three new volunteers that Laura from Spokane had recruited for us (thanks Laura!).

All in all, it was a great three days, full of inspiring stories from fans, and lots of support and enthusiasm about our work.

We are nearing our final stretch of the H20 tour, with only two weekends remaining. Watch for us in San Francisco, San Diego, Phoenix and Albuquerque this weekend! And we still need volunteers for Denver, St. Louis and Boise! Sign up today!

Check out more photos from our weekend in Washington here.

Paying a visit to North Carolina

2010-08-31T10:38:00.000-07:00

The Water = Hope campaign spent the past weekend in North Carolina with the H2O tour, getting even more country music fans involved with our campaign to bring people around the globe clean drinking water!

We arrived in Charlotte on Friday morning and got to work, setting up for the day and preparing for our volunteer crew. We had 11 amazing volunteer join us: Joe, a volunteer from Cleveland, came out with his friend, and we had several groups of high school and college friends joining us as well.

It’s been really inspiring to have so many students volunteering for us this summer, and we hope they are able to take the Water = Hope campaign back with them to their campuses this fall!

Charlotte gave us a lot of love - we talked to hundreds of fans about the importance of clean water, with many of our volunteers going out and working the parking lot and talking to the ‘tailgating’ crowd before they came in, to much success! We also got a nice shout out from a local radio station which helped us out quite a bit - lots of fans mentioned hearing about us before they came to the show that day. We also need to mention that we raised more money in Charlotte for our well building project than we have at any other show thus far on the tour, so a special thanks goes out to our volunteers that night and all the supportive fans!

The next day we were in Raleigh. Our normal set up routine had the added bonus of a GAC film crew being on site; shortly after our volunteers arrived, they came by with Brad to talk to me and Kim about what the Water = Hope campaign was doing on the tour, so watch for us at some point in the next week! Brad also took the time to talk to our volunteers, 10 high school girls (plus a mom and a boyfriend!) who, needless to say, were very excited to meet him!

Our volunteers in Raleigh were a lot of fun; 7 of them came from Wake Early College of Health and Sciences, a college prep high school about an hour away (one of the volunteers, Lizzy, also brought her mom and a friend!), and our other three all attend a local Raleigh high school (sorry for forgetting the name, girls!). All were a blast to work with, and did a great job talking to fans all night long!

All weekend long, we talked with fans who were not only interested in supporting Water = Hope, but who told us stories of things they and family members were doing through churches, schools and in their communities to make clean water a priority for people around the globe - it’s so great to see this fan community engaged around this issue!

The tour will resume next week in Spokane as we finally make our way out west with about nine more stops. We still have room for volunteers to join us, so be sure to get signed up today!

-Brande

Lokahi Summer Newsletter!

2010-08-24T17:07:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you that have volunteered with us so far this season - it’s been a lot of fun and incredibly inspiring to get to work with so many amazing volunteers!
If you have not yet had a chance to join us at one of our shows, read on, as there are still lots of volunteer opportunities abound!

Water = Hope Campaign

Our work on the Brad Paisley tour for Water = Hope has been nothing short of incredible; we’ve already gotten over 10,000 Paisley fans to take part in this amazing campaign, are halfway to our goal of building four wells in communities needing clean water, AND we still have over a dozen dates left on the tour, more chances to talk to people about the importance of clean water! If you would like to join us, we’ll be out west in September, with shows in Spokane, the Gorge, Portland, San Francisco, Phoenix, Albuquerque, San Diego, Boise, Denver and Salt Lake City and need lots of volunteers to help us make these dates a big success!
To join us at one of these dates, just visit www.waterequalshope.com/volunteer

We have been posting photos from the tour all summer long on the Facebook page - if you haven’t checked it out yet, please do so, and be sure to tag yourself if you are in some of them!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=168302&id=23133677902&ref=mf

Learn more about Water = Hope by visiting the website, Hope Through Healing Hands website, and by becoming a ‘fan’ on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/hopethroughhealinghands

Arcade Fire and Partners in Health

I am also doing some cool work in a partnership with our friends at Reverb and Partners in Health, hitting the road late this September with Arcade Fire, where I’ll be building support for Partners in Health’s Haiti projects.

To volunteer, visit http://reverb.org/project/arcadefire/

I was lucky to get to spend about two and a half weeks on the road with the band this August; you can read about my work on the tour earlier this summer here:
http://lokahioutreach.blogspot.com/2010/08/on-road-with-arcade-fire.html

More volunteer opportunities!

Our good friends at Reverb have all sorts of cool projects and tours going on and offer up some great volunteer opportunities. Check them out: http://www.reverb.org/volunteer

We have also recently partnered up with Trick or Vote, a very cool voter outreach project taking place on Halloween this year. Check it out, and head up a Halloween night effort in your community: http://trickorvote.org/

Photos, Facebook, Blogs and more!

There are all sorts of ways to keep up to date with all of our projects this summer!

Become our friend on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LokahiOutreach
Follow up on Twitter: http://twitter.com/lokahi
Check out our blog: http://lokahioutreach.blogspot.com/

We couldn’t do it without you...

Again, a huge thanks to all of you who have come out and joined us in recent months - working with volunteers is the most important aspect of our work and appreciate your continued support and involvement!

Thanks!
Brande and the Lokahi team

Water = Hope in Florida!

2010-08-17T16:24:00.000-07:00

Another guest blog from Kelsey Neff, reporting from our work with Water = Hope on the Brad Paisley H2O tour!

Water = Hope made it out to three different cities this past weekend in Florida, starting in Daytona Beach.

We stepped off the bus in the morning and were pleased to see we were surrounded by all sorts of Daytona Beach fun, including a water park, carnival and the beach a short walk away. We ventured over to beach and walked around for a bit before we had to meet our awesome volunteer crew for the night. We had Michelle come out and bring her husband Derrick, her mother and her nephew Dustin. Michelle was an employee at the local Old Navy store, and took part in their volunteer program (much like our Gap girls that we met in Cleveland). Because she took the time to come out, Old Navy will make a donation to Water = Hope!!

We love seeing more retailers encourage their employees to volunteer like this, and we really appreciate the effort that Michelle and her family put in to make our time in Daytona a great experience!

Next we headed to Tampa where the whole H2O crew, as well as some of the artists, took part in a hundred foot high water slide!! After that we met our crew, which consisted of four high school friends who were last minute add-ons from the waiting list and were really great. Sophia, Stephanie, Kelsey and Sarah were working to fill community service hours for their school and said they had a lot of fun working with Water = Hope and wanted to volunteer with us again. We also had Jamie come out and volunteer, who was very passionate about the water crisis and a lot of other issues that affect third world countries. She was working with a program that requires applicants to volunteer with different organizations and then in return they set you up with volunteer opportunities abroad.

Toward the end of the night we had Andy and Joel, who are musicians that play with Steel Magnolia which is a part of the H2O tour, come by the tent and pick up some Water = Hope shirts. Keep an eye out for them to appear on stage!! Thanks for a great night Tampa!

Our last stop on our tour de Florida was West Palm Beach where we prepared ourselves for a sold out show. We met Jillian, Katelyn and Stephanie who worked hard with us to spread the word about Water = Hope to the people of West Palm. They worked hard into the night and helped us have our best donation night of the three cities! We were very impressed by that, especially considering we only had the three girls working with us. Thanks for your hard work girls!!

We’re headed to North Carolina next, visit us as waterequalshope.com/volunteer to sign-up!!

On the road with Arcade Fire

2010-08-16T19:28:00.000-07:00

On the road with Arcade Fire

A quick update on what I’ve been up the past two week: I’ve been working with Arcade Fire on joint project with Reverb and Partners in Health, greening the tour and running the fan engagement for PIH.

On the greening front, Reverb is coordinating backstage recycling, water stations and biodiesel fuelings. The band and crew were all given a reusable water bottle at the start of the tour, which they are then using to cut down on the amount of plastic water bottles being used each day.

I make sure there are ample water coolers or five gallon water containers with our cool little ‘dolphin pumps’ backstage and in dressing rooms for the crew each day, in addition to placing recycle containers throughout the backstage area, finding out what the venue recycles, and taking care of all advancing issues related to greening. We get biodiesel fuelings about twice as a week as well, fueling our trucks and buses with B20. The band has been really committed on this ‘green front’, even taking their reusable bottles on stage with them!

My afternoons and evenings are spent running an outreach program for Partners in Health, an organization I have long admired and am thrilled to be working with. Night after night we talk to fans about the work that PIH is doing and the relationship between the band and the organization, get fans to sign our ‘Stand with Haiti’ declaration, and take small donations to support the work that PIH is doing.

Each night is filled with incredible conversations with fans doing amazing things; people that have volunteered in Haiti, that work in global health, that work for local health organizations in their own towns, doctors that want to help PIH.

In New York at one of our Madison Square Garden shows we talked to a fan who had come in from Mexico City for the show, and really wanted to volunteer and help with PIH efforts where he lives. In Baltimore we met several people whom had just returned home from working in Haiti the previous six months. Our Philly show included a visit from several Haitian families that Partners in Health had placed locally for medical treatment following the earthquake - meeting the young, funny, smart, resilient little kids among them was a particular treat!

Doing engagement and organizing on a concert tour always reminds one of how much of the world is full of people silently doing their own thing to make things a little better, a little more just, and a little bit kinder. This tour has been remarkable on that front; night after night after night we get to hear incredible stories, and it feels great to know we are linking all of these amazing people together through the PIH community.

Our volunteers have been nothing short of amazing. Many of them have been students: high school students, college undergrads, grad students in public health, law, pre-med, and medicine leading efforts on their campus for both Partners in Health and other global health organizations, many inspired by the work of Paul Farmer and the story they read in Mountains Beyond Mountains.

They have come to us through student list serves, forwarded emails, Facebook and Twitter, and some have driven as much as three hours in each direction to join us. Our student volunteers in particular have been remarkable, I’m always so encouraged to hear about the efforts they leading on their campuses and in their communities, motivated by a strong sense of compassion and justice.

We have also been joined be a steady stream of volunteers that are no longer in school but are committed to the work that Partner’s in Health does and want to donate their time. All of our volunteers have worked incredibly hard, talking to thousands and thousands of people about the work of PIH, inspiring the Arcade Fire fan community about the work of PIH and the potential we have to forge a new future for Haiti and all of the developing world.

We wrapped up this short two week run in Toronto on Saturday night, where instead of Partners In Health, the set up was for Kanpe.

Kanpe is an organization that Regine Chassagne established with a close friend, and is focused on working in a very grassroots, one on one manner with Haitian families, linking them to the resources they need to end the cycle of poverty. Kanpe works to address health, nutrition, housing, education and financing/banking in part by partnering with organizations like Partners in Health and Fonkoze, helping families navigate the confusing stream of NGO resources available to them in their country to get what they need to literally ‘stand up’ and become self sustained.

The Toronto show was a lot of fun; we were joined by a Kanpe board member and Ambassador, as well as an awesome crew of volunteers who helped us have an absolutely incredible night - the ideal way to wrap up a tour!

Check out more photos here!

Be sure to become a fan of Reverb, PIH and Kanpe on Facebook to learn more and stay updated!

Water = Hope goes to Texas!

2010-08-09T19:41:00.000-07:00

Another guest post by our blogger/campaigner Kelsey Neff!
-Brande

After a 16 hour bus ride, we started our Texan adventure in Hidalgo. At first we were a little concerned about how the night would pan out, especially when we heard that the Brad Paisley H2O tour was the first show of this magnitude to perform at this newer venue. We were pleasantly surprised when our AWESOME volunteer crew arrived, consisting of eleven Water = Hope supporters.

We learned that Konsuelo heard about Water = Hope through an ad on Facebook, and she told her brother Jesse who then told all of our other volunteers about it. By the end of the night we decided that we wanted to hire Jesse and his friend Isaac to recruit all of our volunteers, they were that awesome! We had our best night in Texas in Hidalgo, even though we had a crowd a third of the size as our other shows, which is a direct result of our great team. Thank you so much for coming out guys, we really appreciate all the work you did!

Our next stop (after a 3am bus visit from the Mexican border patrol…no joke!), was Houston where we were expecting a pretty large crew for the night. We started and ended the night with nine individuals who sweated it out with us in the hot Houston heat!! We had five high school friends, a mother with her two daughters and also Kallie, who was our big earner for the night. About half of our volunteers had never volunteered before and we were grateful that they decided to come and help us get those wells built! We were happy that at the end of the night they told us that they didn’t know that volunteering could be so much fun. Glad you guys could make it out!

The last city we visited was Dallas, which turned out to be a really great night! We had a smaller volunteer crew of three high school aged girls, Chelsea, Melody, and Lauren. They heard about Water = Hope through their aunt, who had volunteered for us in Cincinnati, and really wowed us with their hard work! We really enjoyed talking to them and were glad that they could make it out.

We also had Nicolas come out, who started out as a fan that we talked to in Chicago. He really liked Water = Hope and what we are trying to do on the tour, so he came back and volunteered for us. He was also so inspired that he wants to start a Water = Hope campus program on his college campus!! In Dallas we also had a visit from Jane Lynch Crain, who works with Hope Through Healing Hands.

She came by to check out the tent and see what we were up to and we were glad that she did!! We had a great night in Dallas and loved the response that we got from country fans there. Everyone that we talked to was so gracious and responsive to the goals we have for the H20 tour. Thank you so much Dallas, you were all amazing!!

This week we’re in Florida, starting in Daytona Beach then moving on to Tampa and West Palm Beach, come out and volunteer for us!!

Check out more photos here!

Back on the road...

2010-07-27T13:19:00.000-07:00

Another blog update from our guest blogger, Kelsey Neff!

Water = Hope and the whole H20 World Tour crew had the privilege of hanging out in two very different cities this past weekend. In Cleveland, OH we had one of our craziest nights yet!! We were warned the morning of the show that the weather could get a little intense with a heat warning until 8 pm and then severe rain and winds after, but that didn’t stop the BIGGEST volunteer crew we have ever had from showing up. Our crew for the night consisted of 25 dedicated, hard-working, and awesome Water = Hope supporters. About half of our crew was small groups of high school aged friends who worked hard in the hot sun to get those sign ups and donations. We also had some families that came out, a father daughter duo and a mother with her daughter and son. Then we had our Gap girls who were led by Jennifer and all worked together at the local Gap. They found out about Water = Hope on their volunteer board at work and came out to show their support and in addition are going to have Gap making a matching donation to Hope Through Healing Hands! Thanks girls!

Our most impressive volunteer team of the night was Joe and Megan to raise $300 and got 250 sign ups by themselves! Joe was determined to beat the $200 record set by previous volunteers in Philly, and worked long hours in the severe temperatures to do so! We joked with him afterward asking if he wanted to come to every city with us…he was that impressive!!
We were having an awesome night in Cleveland, getting a great response from fans and raising donations like crazy! And then around 9pm the winds kicked up and we were told to break down our tent immediately. Thanks so much to those nice fans and Live Nation crew that helped us pack up our stuff and get out of there so we didn’t blow away!! Some other awesome fans from the night are pictured below. Thanks for one of our best nights so far Cleveland!

Next we headed to Saratoga Springs, NY where things were a bit quieter, and a bit calmer. The venue that we were at was in a national park, so that provided for some nice scenery through the night. We met some awesome people who were stoked about Water = Hope and raised almost three dollars for every name we signed up! One fan thanked us very sincerely for the work that we were doing, and talked to us extensively about that water crisis and how it affects so many people. Thanks for your support Saratoga Springs!!

We’re off to Texas next, we’ll be stopping by Hidalgo on August 5th, Houston on the 6th, and Dallas on the 7th. And after that, Florida here we come! Sign up to volunteer and help us get those wells built!!

Creating clean water in Illinois!

2010-07-22T13:25:00.000-07:00

By Kelsey Neff, Lokahi's guest campaigner and blogger for the Water = Hope campaign this summer!

We’re back on the road again with the Brad Paisley H2O World Tour, visiting Chicago and Moline, IL last weekend!

Friday morning greeted us with hot temperatures and even hotter humidity! The severe temperatures didn’t sway you hardcore country fans, or our even more dedicated Water = Hope volunteer crew! We had a great crew of volunteers, starting the day with 12 dedicated do-gooders. We had three sets of best friends and high school students who had volunteered at other shows like this, and who collected an awesome amount of e-mails and donations. We also had Barry, Bob and Betty who went out on their own to talk to people about Water = Hope. Bob was an experienced campaigner who had volunteered at a U2 show a couple years back with the ONE Campaign, and impressed us by raising a lot of money for those wells, working so hard we barely saw him! We also had a best friend duo who worked together at a school and also were on their feet moving for the majority of the night. Everyone did a great job, thanks to all of you for suffering through the heat with us!

We got a great response from fans in Chicago, raising almost three dollars for every e-mail we collected! People were very interested in our goals and wanted to show their support in many ways. We had a couple people from Texas that wanted to volunteer for us when we head that way, and others that grabbed t-shirts for a bunch of their friends and family. The show was fantastic and the crowd was great. Thanks for an awesome night Chicago!

In Moline we met Colin and Erica and their friends who were committed to matching the success we had in Chicago, even though we only had a third of the volunteers! They were energetic and passionate about Water = Hope and impressed us with their results. We had a little bit less of a crowd in Moline, but we still got a really good response from Brad Paisley fans. One fan even looked through her phone and signed her whole family up on our e-mail sheet; she said she knew that they would want to support this cause. We also had a lot of fans that stopped by our table and then sent their friends back to sign up. The support we felt in both Chicago and Moline was really great; thanks for a successful first weekend back Illinois!

We’ll be back on the road this weekend as well, hitting up Cleveland and Saratoga.
In August, we’ll be in Texas and Florida; visit the Water = Hope website to learn more and volunteer: http://www.waterequalshope.com/

Our biggest nights yet!

2010-06-21T18:57:00.000-07:00

Five weeks into the tour, our campaign with Water = Hope is making a big impact with Brad Paisley fans! We just finished shows in Darien Lake, NY and Philadelphia, bringing the first ‘leg’ of the tour to a finish with some impressive results!

Our show at Darien Lake - located between Buffalo and Rochester - had us a little concerned about being able to recruit volunteers, since it is a bit of a drive from either city. We were excited to have a great crew of volunteers come out and join us: a mother, daughter & aunt team of Susan, Carol and Melissa, as well as Corey, Chelsea, Cary and Lyndsey, who are a combination of friends, sisters and fiances that all drove into from Rochester! Our team did great, helping us sign up lots of new supporters and raising lots of money for our well building projects, working all night to talk to Brad fans about the importance of clean water.

We got a lot of support from the crowd from the minute the doors opened until the very last fans left the venue; Nick and Francis, pictured below, kept talking to us long after security ushered everyone out and loaded up on Water = Hope materials to help spread the word among their friends in Buffalo.

An overnight bus trip brought us into Philly in the morning. On a personal note, I’ll admit to some bias: I love doing shows in Philadelphia, I’ve always gotten a lot of support for the campaigns I’ve worked from the fans there, and everyone seems to be in a perpetually good mood! Our show Saturday night lived up to my expectations, giving us the biggest night we have had yet on the tour.

Our night in Philly was a direct result of an AMAZING volunteer crew that we can’t thank enough: Bill and Brianna are high school students and friends who worked so hard all night that it felt like we barely saw them, LeeAnn is a huge Brad Paisley fan and supporter of water initiatives like this, and was a huge help at our busy booth, Neil and Yang are cousins; Neil is an exchange student from China and Yang took a train up from Washington DC just to join us and help out!

Then we had ‘the girls’: Angelina and Danielle are old friends who frequently volunteer together, and Sara, Angelique, Samantha and Rebecca are all friends and in high school. Both groups of ladies took to the parking lots to talk to the tailgating crowd before the doors opened, and they took on our ‘friendly challenge’ of which volunteer could sign up the most volunteers with a passion. Early on, it looked like Angelina and Danielle would take home the Water = Hope hoodie prize (together, the two of them signed up well over 300 new supporters!) but the sister team of Sara and Angelique edged them out; they signed up 200 new supporters EACH, a record for the tour! The crowd in Philly was full of love for Water = Hope; fans are really excited about our well building project, loving the idea of country fans working together to bring water to a community that needs it. We had our biggest night yet both in new Water = Hope supporters and in the money we were able to raise for the wells, and we also signed up lots of new Philly volunteers to join our incredible team of campaigners!

The tour is taking a break for a few weeks - we’ll be back at work in Chicago in the middle of July. In the meantime, there are all sorts of ways to support Water = Hope: text H2O to 25383 to give $10, and you can sign up and a part of one our amazing volunteer teams by visiting our volunteer page. You can also check out more photos from the tour (and tag yourself if you are in them!) on our Facebook page.

In Detroit and Pittburgh with Water = Hope

2010-06-14T15:15:00.000-07:00

Water = Hope paid a visit to Detroit and Pittsburgh this past weekend as part of our ongoing work on the Brad Paisley summer H2O tour!

We were greeted by enthusiastic fans and volunteers in Detroit, which made for a great night! We talked to lots of people, including several who were interested in volunteering and becoming involved with the campaign on a local level and on their campuses, something we always like to hear.

Our volunteers consisted of two ‘teams’ of people: Stephanie and Nicole, sisters on their summer break (from college and high school) and our team of enthusiastic high school girls: Erica, Emmy, Betsy and Marissa.

Our crew did a great job, talking to lots of people and getting them excited about bringing clean water to people around the world. We were a bit limited in what we could do in Detroit due to the way the venue was set up, but our volunteer crew were true troopers, making the most of it and getting a record number of fans to take part in our text message fundraising campaign.

We loaded up our stuff and got on the tour bus bound for Pittsburgh the next day. Saturday morning we were greeted by the tour crew worried about thunderstorms that never actually materialized (we seemed to be blessed by the weather fairies this tour, knock on wood!) so we set up somewhat concerned, but forged ahead. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any volunteers joining us that night (Pittsburgh - we need some people, sign up and join!) but we made the most of it, signing up lots of new supporters and raising money to bring a needing community a well. Fans are really excited about this idea, really responding to the notion of the Paisley & country music fan base being able to create clean water for those that need it through the combined small actions of many over the course of the tour. While walking the lawn before the show, I talked to lots and lots of people who were really excited about what Water = Hope is doing, so we are eager to get community efforts moving in Pittsburgh as well!

After loading out once Brad was finished Saturday night, we were surprised to find Josh Thompson and some of his band setting up for an impromptu midnight bluegrass session next to our bus! Josh is a big supporter of Water = Hope, not only taking part in our PSA but always ‘re-tweeting’ our Twitter posts and helping to spread the word on Facebook, and he’s a great musician and all around nice guy. It was a great way to end a wonderful weekend!

We’ll be back out again this weekend before we take a break while the tour goes to Europe. We will be in Darien Center (Buffalo and Rochester regions of NY) and Philly on Friday and Saturday - as always, we’d love to have you sign up and volunteer!

Water = Hope in Toledo, Indy and Cinci

2010-06-08T10:19:00.001-07:00

Lokahi was back out on the road with Brad Paisley and the Water = Hope campaign this past weekend, making stops in Toledo, Indianapolis and Cincinnati.

Toledo proved to be a small but mighty show; though at one of the smaller venues on the tour, fans came out in force to support Water = Hope! We signed up hundreds of new supporters while also collecting donations for our very popular Water = Hope tee-shirts (you can soon buy them online as well - watch for updates!). We also got nice mentions in the local press and were even featured on a local country radio station as well.

young fans signing the Water = Hope banner

We headed out on the tour buses Friday night bound for Indianapolis and our Saturday show. Cloudy skies hung around all day in Indy, threatening to open up, but we set up our booth and moved forward with fingers crossed. We were joined by a great volunteer crew; Lea, Justin, Matt, Kayla and Chelsea all work together and came to the show together. It was one of their first volunteer experiences, and they did great, signing up lots of people AND getting a chance to meet and talk to Josh Thompson, one of the artists performing on the tour.

indy volunteer crew

Cincinnati turned out to be the best night we’ve had on the tour yet. Our amazing volunteer crew helped us sign up close to 800 new supporters for Water = Hope! Aaron, Andrea and Kaitlyn are all high school students, Michael and Ashlynn are college students, Karen and her husband David are local Cincinnati residents, and Gayenell brought her entire family to volunteer!

cinci voluneer crew

The team did an incredible job, even engaging in some friendly competition (for a prized Water = Hope hoodie!) to see who could sign up the most supporters; we were very amused of their ‘tracking method’ which involved marking off completed sheets on their arms! Ashlynn proved to be the final winner of the night, signing up an amazing 160 new Water = Hope supporters, though Michael was a close second with 135. All of our volunteers worked incredibly hard to make our evening in Cincinnati a huge success.

Talking to the fans each night is always inspiring; the Paisley and country music community is eager to lend their voice and to invest in clean water initiatives. One of our favorite groups of people were the ladies of the “Waters of Dillsboro Retirment Home”; they all work together at the retirement community outside of Cincinnati and were super excited about the Water = Hope campaign, insisting several times that we promise to email them about volunteer opportunities they can do as a group!

the ladies of the “Waters of Dillsboro Retirment Home”

This week we’ll be in Detroit and Pittsburgh and are looking forward to talking to fans there. We already have some great volunteers signed up for those shows that we can’t wait to meet, but we do still have room for more volunteers to join us, visit our volunteer page to learn more: http://www.waterequalshope.com/volunteer/

You can also check out more photos on our Facebook page!

Water = Hope goes to Kansas City and St. Louis

2010-06-01T12:11:00.001-07:00

Our work with Hope Through Healing Hands and Water = Hope continued last week, as we were back out on the road with Brad Paisley, making stops in Kansas City and St. Louis.

As always, we were joined by some amazing volunteers along the way. Jacqueline and Troy are a couple that live in Kansas City who are active volunteers in their community. They helped us have a great night, talking to fans about the campaign and getting many of their fellow KC residents involved! Our Kansas City set up was pretty fun; the ‘water world’ where our booth is situated each show was on a closed street outside of the Sprint Center in downtown KC, and we also had a table set up inside the arena as well. Kansas City also featured the debut of our PSA, which was exciting to see!

In St. Louis, we were joined by Mira, Kelley, Holly and Jeremy. They all know each other from high school, and it was the first time most of them had volunteered with a campaign like Water = Hope. They did an incredible job, working non-stop in what was by far the hottest day to hit St. Louis in a long time! Our St. Louis volunteer crew helped us have our best day yet on the tour, signing up hundreds of new supporters for Water = Hope and getting lots of fans to text to donate.

As always, we were able to talk to lots and lots of fans about clean water issues as well. We were particularly impressed by how many young people in St. Louis told us about studying these issues in college, high school, or even middle school, and who in turn were eager to join the campaign. We are excited to start working with our new base of supporters in Missouri in the months to come!

The tour continues into more of the midwest this week as well; we’ll be in Toledo, Indianapolis and Cincinnati this week. Next week will see stops in Detroit and Pittsburgh; to join us, just visit http://waterequalshope.com/volunteer/.

You can check out more photos from the tour (and tag yourself if you are in one of them!) on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/lokahioutreach.

Water = Hope launches in Virginia Beach!

2010-05-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

We kicked off our campaign for Water = Hope with Brad Paisley last night in Virginia Beach!

Our first ever Water = Hope volunteer crew

We were joined by six awesome volunteers: Cheyenne, Katelyn, Ciara, Chandler and Carrie are all high school students in the Virginia Beach area, and Robyn, (Chandler and Carrie’s mom!), was also there working all evening. It was a first time volunteer experience for most of our team, and in turn, it was the first time Water = Hope has had volunteers help us at a show, and they did great - signing up hundreds of people, getting a lot of support for the Simon Water for the World Act.

Fans join Water = Hope!

Hope Through Healing Hands Chairman Senator Frist also joined us, helping to talk to fans and getting them excited about the potential in bringing cleaning water to the one billion that lack it.

Senator Frist and Paisley fans

Being in Virginia Beach, we also talked with lots of fans that were current or retired members of the military, many of whom had seen the need for clean water around the world first hand and were eager to lend their support.

We also got a lot of love from the Paisley crew - Brad himself came by and picked up a shirt from our booth, so keep an eye out for it to appear on stage sometime soon. The tour continues on to Washington DC tonight, and we are looking forward to getting more and more people involved!

If you’d like to join us as a volunteer, be sure to get signed up for a show coming to your town soon!

Water = Hope campaign - volunteer!

2010-04-26T23:45:00.000-07:00

Lokahi is excited to be partnering with Hope Through Healing Hands and their recently launched Water = Hope campaign; check out the website we just created to learn more.

We are also looking for volunteers to make this campaign a huge success:

A small drop can create a huge ripple.

Join Water = Hope as a volunteer on the Brad Paisley tour this summer and bring clean water to the millions that need it!

Hope Through Healing Hands is launching a nationwide effort around our Water = Hope campaign this spring and summer. Building on the idea that one individual can create a ripple, we are creating and supporting opportunities for volunteers to mobilize across the country to engage others in the clean water movement, advocate for smart clean water legislation, and promote investment in clean water projects globally.

Being a clean water campaigner can take on lots of different looks: you might lead efforts on your campus, you might be organizing meetings in your neighborhood, you might be joining us at national events – it’s really up to you! Water = Hope will be providing you with the training, information, materials and support that you need to make your efforts a huge success, building a grassroots movement of people committed to bringing clean water to those 890 million who lack it.

We are working with volunteers that will lead efforts in their communities and campuses around clean water, and who will be joining us at concerts and other events this summer, leading efforts to invest, connect and advocate.

In particular, we will be at all US Brad Paisley tour dates from May through September, and need volunteers to join us at the concerts!

To join us as a volunteer and learn more, please visit: http://waterequalshope.com/volunteer/

Campus Ambassadors hard at work...

2010-04-16T09:21:00.000-07:00

LACC student Lawrence has been hard at work on campus lately - check him out in action:

He's been building lots of support, working with other campus groups to hold events like movie screenings, and recruiting new ACLU members - very cool stuff!

Remembering Volunteer Sherri Bui

2010-03-05T08:58:00.000-08:00

I really love the fact that my work with Lokahi allows me to interact with countless devoted volunteers for all sorts of causes. In particular, I got to work with some really cool people when I was involved with the ONE Campaign, which was how I met Sherri Bui.

I can’t remember exactly when she first joined us, I think it was the Pearl Jam tour in the summer of 2006, but she was always game for joining in regardless of where we were set up or what we were doing (the photo above is from a hot, dirty day at the Warped Tour one year!), and was an incredibly fun, joyous person to be around. I still have several of the birthday and ‘congrats’ cards she sent me over the years, one of which, a (RED) card in fact, I see every day as it sits on the ledge right by my desk. In an age of Facebook wall posts and text messages (both which Sherri also utilized to say hello and send best wishes!) there is something incredibly thoughtful about getting a card in the mail; she was that kind of person.

I was saddened and shocked to hear about her passing yesterday - she was only 40, and unknown to me, and I suspect many others, had been in treatment for cancer for several years. Sherri was a really amazing, generous, kind, caring person - a reminder that in addition to the social wrongs we are striving to correct, being blessed with the opportunity to know and work with people like her is a big part of the reason that many of us do the work that we do. I feel lucky to have known her and to have spent time with her participating in something we were both passionate about.

Sherri on the ONE blog last year

Sherri and the ONE volunteer crew at U2 in Honolulu, Dec 2006

Sherri and Brian at Warped August 2008

Howard Zinn

2010-01-28T12:51:00.000-08:00

I've long loved this quote:

“TO BE HOPEFUL in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”
-Howard Zinn, 1922 - 2010

http://www.howardzinn.org/

Campus intern training

2009-12-11T17:58:00.000-08:00

Lokahi’s campus project with the ACLU-SC got off to a big start last week with our orientation and training. Students from five campuses gathered at the ACLU’s downtown offices to meet each other, learn about the history of the organization and get a crash course on outreach and campus organizing techniques.

Our students this year come from varied campuses and backgrounds. Dan is our USC Ambassador, Alice will be working UCLA, Erica hails from CSULB, Kyle is from LA City College, and Alex is doing a community program covering the west side.

The students got a chance to hear from key ACLU staff, including deputy director Heather Carrigan, and the ACLU-SC Executive Director of the past thirty years, Ramona Ripston. They also spent a lot of time working with us on volunteer training, outreach techniques, organizing concepts, and administrative concerns. It was a lot of information packed into a one day training, but we are confident they will do great, and they will continue to attend monthly training’s throughout the school year in 2010 to fine tune their skills.

 Our Ambassadors hit the ground running - several had recruited new ACLU members within days of attending the orientation, and all are balancing their finals and family holiday related commitments with getting their unique campus programs up and running.

Lokahi’s campus programs such as this are unique in the way that they are structured to maximize the time students give; interns receive a lot of support, direct management and ongoing training, but they are given a lot of freedom to create programs that are uniquely tailored to their campus environment. In the end, this allows them to have a meaningful ‘internship’ with something tangible to show for their efforts, while also providing a tremendous service and benefit to the organization they are working with. For our ACLU program, our Campus Ambassadors will be increasing ACLU membership, educating their campus about the organization and its current campaigns and helping to increase the awareness of the organization itself. In turn, student will be learning a lot about community organizing and outreach, cause marketing, fundraising and leadership and will end the program with an impressive resume of accomplishments.

We are very eager to see our students get to work in the new year - check back for regular updates, and we’ll also post links to the individual student blogs soon as well.

Internships for Los Angeles based college students

2009-09-02T20:28:00.000-07:00

Lokahi is excited to be launching a very cool program in a partnership with the ACLU of Southern California. We are recruiting four college students to take part in this year long program - a great opportunity to learn about organizing and building a movement.

Visit our website for more information.

Thanks!

Rock for A Remedy looking for some volunteers

2009-05-11T10:21:00.001-07:00

INDIGO GIRLS ticket
Originally uploaded by theatreknitter

Our friends at Rock for A Remedy asked us to put the word out to our volunteers about a chance to help them with food drives on the current Indigo Girls tour. Info is below - a great chance to make a big impact on poverty in your community. Plus, the crew at RFAR are good people too!

From RFAR:

As you may have already heard, Indigo Girls have partnered with Rock for a Remedy for the duration of their Spring/Summer '09 tour! RFAR will be hosting food drives at each of the tour stops beginning on April 8th in Asheville, NC!

We are looking for a few good volunteers! Read on to find out how YOU can help, and in turn, see IG for free in your town!

A little background info for you all:
Rock for a Remedy, Inc (RFAR) is a non-profit organization that partners with local food relief organizations and national touring artists to both gather food/monetary donations and encourage youth and adults to better their communities through charitable efforts.

RFAR's mission is to not only alleviate hunger in North America, but to also encourage and motivate concertgoers to volunteerism
and develop sustainable altruistic participation in the music industry at large.

Audiences have passionately responded to the food drive revolution, providing now over 100 tons of food over RFAR’s six-year history.

Each food drive directly benefits the community in which the concert is held.

Here's where YOU come in!

If you are interested in volunteering in your town, please fill out this survey http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=0UGGPnI9jOjtQEFDgb7OfQ_3d_3d
An RFAR Team member will get back to you to let you know if you made the cut!

**MAY volunteers for McDonald Theatre, HOB Anaheim, Lensic, Stubb's and Tiptina! We need you!**

As an RFAR volunteer, you will be expected to help our organization collect canned food donations at the show as well as help educate fellow concert goers about hunger issues in your community. Your duties will talk place pre-show and you will be able to enjoy the concert when you're done with your assignment.

Please visit Rock for a Remedy's website to learn more about our mission! http://www.rockforaremedy.org

Fight poverty and climate change in your community – join the Oxfam Action Corps

2009-03-12T19:17:00.001-07:00

Coldplay fan signing up for Oxfam
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

Our friends at Oxfam sent us a note asking us to help spread the word about their Action Corp program for this year. Deadline is fast approaching - check out the link below for more information!

------

Concerned about poverty and hunger on a global scale, but not sure how to make a difference at the local level? The Oxfam Action Corps provides a way to change the big picture, starting with your local community, and we’re looking for committed people from your area to join today!

The Oxfam Action Corps is a group of dedicated volunteers in more than a dozen US cities who campaign with Oxfam in their neighborhoods, at town events, and concerts. Anyone can join! In addition, two volunteers from each city will come to Washington DC for an Oxfam training in advocacy and organizing.

The Oxfam Action Corps is based in the following cities: Albuquerque, NM; Austin, TX; Burlington, VT; Chicago, IL; Columbus, OH; Kansas City, MO; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN ; New York City, NY; Palo Alto/San Jose, CA; Philadelphia, PA; San Francisco, CA

To sign up, go to: http://www.oxfamactioncorps.org/oxfam_action_corps_application

The deadline to apply is Saturday, March 14.

This year, Oxfam Action Corps volunteers will mobilize around one of the greatest challenges of our time: climate change and its impact on the world’s poorest communities. While Climate change affects us all, it is having a disproportionate impact on people in poor communities. From floods in Bangladesh, droughts in Uganda, and hurricanes on the US Gulf Coast, Oxfam America is enacting solutions and calling for an equitable response to the global crisis.

Here is what previous Oxfam Action Corps organizers said:

“As an activist, I had done fundraising. But the Oxfam Action Corps was about public education and raising awareness, and I found people really appreciated my work.” Khadija, Mechanical Engineer, Pennsylvania.

“My work with the Oxfam Action Corps has helped immensely in building organizing and mobilization skills. It was a great way for me to start reaching out and getting to know the people in the community.” Julie, Assistant Human Resources/Office Manager, Colorado.

What are the ways that I can get involved?

- Apply to be a Corps organizer for your city and also become eligible to attend the Oxfam training in Washington DC. As a Corps organizer you will help convene local activities and inspire others to get involved, all with ongoing training and coaching from dedicated Oxfam staff.

- Sign up to volunteer with the Oxfam Action Corps in your city, to help out as needed with planning and participation in activities. All levels of experience are welcome!

Can you tell me more about the training?

The Oxfam Action Corps training will take place in Washington DC, April 18-21, 2009. The training is free, including your travel and related expenses. The two Corps organizers selected from each city will attend the training.

During the training you will:
- Meet amazing activists and learn from seasoned professionals in policy and campaigning.
- Learn how to engage people in your city
- Gain experience lobbying on Capitol Hill
- Prepare for a year of campaigning in your home city

Your support will be critical to promoting policies that could help lift millions of people out of poverty. You really can make a difference!

Sign up now at http://www.oxfamactioncorps.org/oxfam_action_corps_application

The deadline to apply is Saturday, March 14

Thank you for your support!

Coldplay

2008-09-16T11:37:00.001-07:00

Oxfam volunteer talking to Coldplay fan
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

We got the opportunity to spend a few nights out with Coldplay earlier this summer, helping our our partners at Oxfam. Lokahi has really expanded the training component of our organization over this past year, and likewise we were excited to be invited by Oxfam to help train their on the ground touring team. During our nights out on the tour, we helped create
systems, volunteer trainings and other mechanisms to ensure that the field efforts over the course of the tour would maximize Oxfam's ability to engage as many fans as possible in their campaigns, encouraging them to sign up, take action, and get involved!

As always, these trainings also provided us with the bonus perk of a chance to be on the ground, working with volunteers and supporters, which is by far the most rewarding part of this work! Having ran the field efforts on the 2005 Coldplay tour for Oxfam, it was also pretty cool to see the impact our efforts made some three years on. We had a great time meeting and working with volunteers in Los Angeles and San Jose, and talking to fans about the amazing work that Oxfam is doing around the world.

You can check out our photos from the Coldplay shows here, and learn more about our training programs on our website.

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Back on the road with Warped!

2008-09-01T11:45:00.000-07:00

Warped fan signing up!
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

Brian and I got to hit the road a few weeks back now, doing work on the California dates of the VANs Warped Tour. In addition to building support for our friends at ONE and Oxfam, we also registered voters and spread the word about our newest partner, Face AIDS, an amazing student led organization doing work to fight AIDS in Africa. Our Face AIDS volunteers in Mountain View, in fact, were quite adept at adopting the Warped Tour aesthetic, as you can see by the evidence below:

I've always loved working Warped - this was our 7th year out in some capacity - it seems to always remind me of why I got into doing this work to start with. Talking to people, especially so many young people, about these issues, and knowing that they might not have gotten informed or inspired otherwise is incredibly rewarding. I always go back to thinking about how music was what politicized me in a lot of ways, and how cool it is that someone could go to a show and literally have their life changed because they talk to one of our volunteers - as I always tell our volunteers, it might seem like what we are doing is simple, but it makes a big impact!

By the end of the week Brian and I had gotten several thousand people signed up to learn more and (hopefully!) get involved. A big thanks to all of you who came out to help, and do keep checking back here for updates and more ways you can get involved!

If you are not yet on our volunteer list, by the way, please be sure to get signed up for ways you can be involved.

Thanks!
-Brande

Upcoming volunteer opportunities

2008-08-11T13:57:00.000-07:00

There are several upcoming volunteer opportunities we wanted to let you know about!

California Warped Tour Dates!

We’ll be at the following Warped Tour dates this week doing outreach for ONE, Face AIDS and a few other organizations, and still have space for volunteers to join us! Volunteers at Warped arrive at 10:30 or 11 and usually stay until about 3 or 4pm.

Warped Dates :

August 13th in Fresno
August 14th in San Diego
August 15th in Mountain View
August 16th in Sacramento
August 17th in Los Angeles

Music Builds!

The ONE Campaign is taking part in the upcoming Music Builds Tour
( http://musicbuildstour.com/ and http://www.one.org/blog/2008/08/01/music-builds-one-rocks/ for more information!) and needs volunteers to help reach out to fans and get more people involved in making poverty history. ONE will be out at all dates of the tour, and needs volunteers to arrive around 4pm at most shows.

The Music Builds dates are:

8/21 Detroit, MI
8/22 Indianapolis, IN
8/23 Chicago, IL
9/07 W Palm Beach, FL
9/11 Cleveland, OH
9/12 VA Beach, VA
9/13 Holmdel, NJ
9/14 Washington, DC
9/18 Birmingham, AL
9/19 Raleigh, NC
9/20 Atlanta, GA
9/21 Nashville, TN
9/25 Phoenix, AZ
9/26 Irvine, CA
9/27 San Diego, CA
9/28 Sacramento, CA
10/02 Dallas, TX
10/03 Houston, TX
10/04 San Antonio, TX
10/05 Oklahoma City, OK
10/10 Minneapolis, MN
10/11 Kansas City, KS
10/12 Denver, CO

Both Music Builds and Warped are unique and really rewarding opportunities to reach out to your community and help build the movement to fight extreme poverty.

To volunteer for Warped or Music Builds, send us an email ASAP, and we’ll put you in touch with the organizers of each tour. Be sure to let us know what date/tour you are interested in volunteer for.

HeadCount is still out on the road!

Our friends at HeadCount are still out on the road and need volunteers to join them in registering voters! We’ve had some AMAZING shows this past week with the Dave Matthews Band, Jack Johnson and OAR – to volunteer with HeadCount, visit their website and register as a volunteer:

www.headcount.org/volunteer.asp or email us for more info.

Thanks for your on-going support and hard work. Organizations like ONE and HeadCount couldn’t do what they do if not for the commitment and dedication of volunteers like you!

HeadCount hits the road...

2008-06-14T09:34:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks have been busy over at HeadCount – as part of our partnership with HeadCount, Lokahi is helping the organization organize, structure and manage their touring outreach efforts. We are very excited (and a little tired...) about the fact that HC's touring teams have hit the road in full force, getting hundreds of people registered to vote and involved with HeadCount along the way!

Erin, Ashley, Stephanie and Ethan are the HC Dave Matthews Band touring team for the first leg of the tour. They got started two weeks ago in Pittsburgh and have been braving rainstorms, heat and long drives ever since. Bad weather hasn’t gotten them down though – they’ve gotten well over a thousand people registered to vote just a few weeks into the tour and are getting more and more people involved every night! They’ll be in Hartford this weekend, and working their way to Darien Lake and Boston next week.

HC's Pearl Jam tour kicked off this week in Florida. Amanda is their touring rep, hitting the road with the band in style as a part of their touring crew! Her and her volunteer teams got the tour off to a great start in Palm Beach and Tampa, getting hundreds of PJ fans registered to vote and informed about Headcount. A big ‘register to voter with Headcount’ shout out from Eddie Vedder was also a nice bonus and unexpected surprise for us!

Also hitting the road this week was the Jack Johnson team of Nicole and Johanna. They got their tour started in Indianapolis, braving rain with their hard core volunteer crew and getting over a hundred Jack fans registered to vote on their opening night.

Joining HC's touring teams on all of these dates are local Headcount volunteers – the Team Leaders, Regional Cordinators and local volunteers, all of whom are coming out in full force and really helping to get thousands of people registered this summer.

There are lots of dates ahead of us – check back as ‘on the road updates’ will start to roll in, check out HeadCount's photos here, and be sure to sign up to volunteer if you haven’t done so yet!

Lokahi partnering with Headcount this summer!

2008-04-30T12:26:00.000-07:00

Lokahi is very excited to be launching a partnership with our friends at Headcount! We'll be teaming up with their crew to help get 100,000 new voters registered and educated over the course of this summer.

Lokahi will be helping Headcount with tour management and volunteer training & recruitment when they hit the road with Jack Johnson, the Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Pearl Jam and several other bands over the next few months.

Voter registration and education, with an emphasis on youth, has always been very important to us - we've spent many a hot summer on the Warped Tour registering thousands of young voter over the past several years! We are excited to be continuing this work, and are honored and eager to be partnering with Headcount, who has made a real commitment to voter outreach this year and is 'walking their talk', so to speak, by having countless team leaders and volunteers on the ground and hard at work.

We are looking forward to the months ahead - if you are already a volunteer on our email list, watch for volunteer info to come your way as we get closer to concert dates, and click here if you'd like to be added to the Headcount volunteer base.

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(RED) U

2008-04-21T13:02:00.000-07:00

Lokahi is proud to be working again with our partners at (RED). We are very excited to announce the launch of '(RED) U', a college internship and outreach program that we'll be involved with throughout next year. If you are going to be in school during the 08/09 academic year and are interested in applying, all of the info you need is below.

We look forward to reviewing applications and hearing about all the ways you can turn your campus (RED) next year!

More info on the (RED) U program can be found here.

PS: as always, we'll be also looking for volunteers to help us out on campuses and at other events throughout the year!

Make your campus (RED) next year

In our first year and half, (RED) has raised over 100 million dollars for the Global Fund. This amount could fund lifesaving antiretroviral treatment for more than 630,000 Africans for a year. The potential in what we are doing is huge. And the need is great.

Every day, 4,400 Africans die of AIDS. Of the 33.2 million people infected with AIDS globally, 68% are living in sub-Sahara Africa. More people die of AIDS in Africa every year than in all the other countries in the world combined.

What’s more tragic is that millions are dying unnecessarily. AIDS is a preventable, treatable disease. Two little pills that cost just 40 cents a day can keep people with HIV/AIDS alive.

In Africa, AIDS is a real emergency. We need a radically new approach to help eliminate it. We want you to help us do it.

(RED) is going to be on campuses across the country next year, and we want your help. How can you turn your campus (RED)? We’re looking for unique ideas – the five best concepts will be rewarded with a “(RED) Ambassador” position for the 08/09 school year, a chance to execute your proposal with our help, an opportunity to bring (RED) to your campus community in a meaningful way, and possibly even a trip to Africa.

(RED) U Student Ambassador Program

(RED) is excited to announce the launch of our (RED) Ambassador program for the 08/09 school year. The program is open to college students from any institution in the United States. Ambassadors will be responsible for turning their campus (RED): educating about the crisis of AIDS in Africa, promoting (RED) products and the role they play in fighting this epidemic, building an understanding of what (RED) is and how the (RED) model works, raising awareness about the Global Fund, and getting as many people as possible in your community to choose (RED) when shopping.

We’ll pick five students from campuses across the country later this spring to be our very first (RED) Ambassadors for the 08 – 09 school year. In this year-long commitment, (RED) Ambassadors will be serving in an internship role, getting a ton of hands-on experience with things like planning campaigns, organizing, marketing, event planning, and training volunteers. You’ll receive training and support from the (RED) team who will be your guide throughout the school year. Your training will kick off with a (RED) U weekend in June where you’ll meet some of the (RED) team, learn about our product partners, learn the ins and outs of the (RED) model, the Global Fund and the issues around the AIDS emergency in Africa, and develop a marketing and outreach plan for your campus. This is a great opportunity to expand your leadership skills and utilize your creativity and knowledge of your campus community in an effort to eliminate the AIDS emergency in Africa.

WANT TO MAKE YOUR CAMPUS (RED) AND BE ONE OF OUR FIRST (RED) AMBASSADORS?

Download the Campus Toolkit by clicking this link or going to the joinred.com homepage.

Then, check out the Application Instructions for information on how to apply to be a (RED) Ambassador. Be sure to also read the Guidelines, (RED) Talking Points and FAQ’s for all of the specifics that you’ll need for your application.

Turning Vail (RED)

2008-04-08T17:00:00.001-07:00

Joining the (RED) community
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

We just got back from a very cold week in Vail! Brian and I were in town for the Vail Film Festival, talking to lots of people about (RED) and promoting the (RED) Vision Showcase. You can check out more photos here.

We’ll have some more updates coming pretty soon – summer plans are starting to firm up and we are excited about the months to come. Don’t forget, as always, that we’ll be needed lots of volunteers to join us, if you haven’t already, be sure to email
us if you’d like to be on our volunteer list.

Volunteering and internships

2008-02-05T13:46:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

Winter is traditionally our slow time, so sorry for the lack of updates! We've mostly been focused on our after school program and making plans for the year ahead for the past few months.

Wanted to post a quick update though, as we've been getting a TON of emails lately regarding to volunteer opps and internships - thanks to everyone who has contacted us, we really appreciate your support and interest in what we do, and we have added you all to our volunteer/email list.

We are still figuring out our year ahead, so stay tuned for updates, we should have some soon. In the meantime, if you are interested in being added to our volunteer list, check out our Idealist.org listing that explains how it all works:

http://www.idealist.org/en/volunteeropportunity/144916-161

You can also email us to be added as well.

As far as internships go, we won't know for a few months yet if we'll have any positions available this summer, but we are very much so hoping we can offer a few spots, as they are a great way for young campaigners to learn about grassroots organizing. Again, keep checking back here - we'll post announcements both here and on our myspace page, and will be sending out emails as well.

Thanks again for the support - feel free to hit us up with any questions, ideas et all!

Fall Updates...

2007-11-01T16:02:00.000-07:00

Fall is typically our slow time as far as tours go, so we shift our attention to our educational programs. Lokahi has been involved with the after school communities in Pasadena and Los Angeles since 2002. We currently have a very cool program running in the Pasadena Unified School District, teaching our students about community service, social justice and global awareness via an arts based, project learning curriculum. Our students have been busy writing letters for Amnesty International and completing some very cool art projects over the past few weeks – you can read up more about what they are doing here, and be sure to check out some photos of our students in action.

More updates will come soon, we promise – we have some big stuff planned for 08 both with our in school educational programs and our touring work!

Common wrap up...

2007-10-09T16:43:00.001-07:00

Common volunter crew Virgina Beach
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

Our team just wrapped up a whirlwind tour with Common that took us through the Midwest, southeast and northeast. In the process, we got thousands of fans educated and informed about Converse (RED) and the steps they could take to fight AIDS in Africa.

As always, we had amazing volunteers joining us along the way. We had Jennifer, a long time ONE Campaign supporter eager to also join us with (RED), help us in Orlando. In Virginia Beach, we were joined by what I coined my ‘Geico’ team – Andrew, Jamie and Shanaya, co-workers who knew each other from their job at, go figure, Geico Insurance. They were very into what (RED) was doing, and were a stellar volunteer crew, giving us one of our best nights on the tour! Jennifer and Mollie in Charlotte, whom volunteer for both (RED) and ONE, also helped us on another big night as well.

We were constantly amazed at how many people we met during this tour whom had been to and done work directly in Africa. I met a Berkelee Music student at the Worcester show who had just returned from Kenya, where she was doing music therapy with youth there. We met social workers in New York who had just returned from Nigeria. We met even more people who were in the process of planning volunteer trips – it was pretty incredible to meet so many people every night whom were doing amazing things day in and day out to fight poverty and AIDS in Africa.

A big thanks to Common and his team for bringing us out – we had a blast and can’t wait to catch up with the tour again next time it comes through the US! In the meantime, be sure to check out www.makeminered.com – design your own Chuck Taylor’s, and fight AIDS in Africa as well!

-Brande

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Dave Matthews Band Wrap Up!

2007-10-06T05:27:00.001-07:00

DMB Volunteer Crew in Mountain View, CA
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

It’s hard to believe that we already just wrapped a very successful third summer on tour with the Dave Matthews Band! Here’s a recap of our busy final week on the road:

Our team rolled in to Phoenix ready to work! One of our volunteers, Judy, joined us after having a root canal earlier in the morning – we think she wins the ‘hard core’ volunteer award of the summer! She has traveled to Kenya in the past and explained to us the level of crisis that people face there that she saw firsthand. She was very up to date on issues, and also works for Motorola, so is on the frontlines of the (RED) effort! Hassan joined us after only a few hours of sleep, and still had to go into work this evening at midnight. This didn't stop him from staying until the very end, even working the concourse while we were breaking down the booth! Anita and her husband John drove over an hour to volunteer with us, and were also very excited to be part of the campaign. We had a shorter night than normal in Phoenix, as we had to break down early to make it to California the next day, but that didn’t stop us from getting thousands of Dave fans involved with ONE and (RED)!

The next day we were in Orange County and were joined by another great team of volunteers. We were joined by Veronica, Debbie, Julie and my friend Kris, all of whom had come from all over Southern California to volunteer for the first time. Our team that night consisted of an ER nurse, a financial planner, an emergency dispatcher and entertainment lawyer – just goes to show you that our volunteer base is quite diverse! We had a lot of fun – Irvine is always one of our favorite shows.

We saw more people with (RED) gear than we normally do (and we normally see a lot of it!) including the very first ‘(RED) tattoos’ of the tour! We talked to lots of people who are active with (RED) and ONE in Southern California, and got tons of people new to the work involved as well.

Next up was San Diego. During set up, a certain bass player nearly wiped out on his skateboard in front of our booth, but luckily tragedy was averted and the show still went on! Our volunteers came out in full force: Thomas joined us for the second time in a week – he drove all the way to downtown LA from Camp Pendleton, where he is a Marine, to help at Global Mala the weekend before, so I had invited him to come back out to something that was at least a little closer. We were also joined by Lynniece and Cynthia, first time volunteers who did a great job. A big thanks to that team for staying around to help us break down at the end of the night as well!

We were in the bay area the next day for the Mountain View show. We really like doing shows at the venue there – it has a great layout, the staff is super nice and it’s always cooler than other summer shows. We had a massive team join us tonight – 9 great volunteers that helped us get hundreds of DMB fans involved in making poverty history and fighting AIDS in Africa. Volunteer veteran Lori joined us again – it’s always great to see her! – along with Jamie, Dave, Raquel, Jean, Ginny, Deepika, Melanie and Trina. They were a super fun team to work with, asking great questions during our training and hitting the ground with full force once the doors opened. In particular, we were amazed by Melanie and Trina. They both had reported to work at 4:45am that day, and in fact barely made it to volunteer because they also finished work late, but they were somehow going full force ALL NIGHT – even staying long after the show ended, selling white ONE bands like crazy people. We discovered that their secret lie in the fact that they work for Starbucks and were sort of permanently caffeinated and peppy, which worked out great for us! They even helped us load our stuff out at the end of the night!

Los Angeles was were we finished up the tour. We had two great nights at the Hollywood Bowl, working with amazing volunteers yet again. We were joined by Drea, Megan, Carol and her son Chris on the first night, and on Sunday Beth, who had volunteered with us at a U2 show in Hawaii last year, joined us, along with Walt, Rachel, Jacqueline, Brooke and Amanda. Our crews did a great job at ending the tour on a high note, talking to thousands of fans over the two nights we were in town.

A big thanks to all of the volunteers and the DMB crew for their help this summer. Their hard work and support got tens of thousands of Dave fans involved with ONE and (RED). Keep on the lookout for more events soon!

-Brande

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(red)
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A busy weekend...

2007-09-25T17:47:00.001-07:00

(RED) volunteer crew!
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

The (RED)/ONE teams were out in full force across the country this past weekend!

We met back up with Common, talking to fans at his shows in Minneapolis and Milwaukee. Common’s tour is proving to be a really amazing experience – we talk to countless fans that are really excited to get behind the idea of what (RED) is working to do. Our field team commented that they couldn’t believe how many people they met over the two nights this weekend that had been to or were going to Africa, doing projects with other ngo’s and even on their own. As always, the Common team was super supportive and helpful – we are really excited about the remaining dates of the tour!

Our Dave Matthews Band team was also hard at work, taking on Texas this weekend. We got thousands of fans involved with ONE and (RED) while in Houston and Dallas, working, as always, with a bunch of very cool volunteers to make it happen. We had a super crew join us in Houston, including long time ONE volunteers Tracey, Al and Lisa, as well as new volunteers Kelly, Sarah, Luke, Cindy, Fernando and Katie. The team did great – hitting the ground running, so to speak, after going through their training! The next night in Dallas proved to be even more successful – we had a great location right around the curve of the west concourse. Somehow, all of our volunteers arrived within 5 minutes of each other – always a good sign of how the evening would go! Joining us to help in Dallas was Kelly, a fifth grade teacher, Robert, Elliot, and Eliza, all students, and Melody and Cheryl, long time friends and advocates of the ONE Campaign and (RED). Since all of our volunteers were familiar with the campaign, training was a snap, and we all had a little time to relax before the doors were open to the fans. Once the venue was open, our crew was all business, everyone staying out the entire time without rest, only returning to the booth to get more sign up sheets. The booth was in full swing as well thanks to a great location, and many new people as well as several old friends of the campaign stopped by to show their support. By the end of the night, our high energy crew was getting pretty tired, but this didn't stop them from staying till the very end – all of our volunteers stayed for the full effort! Great crew, super attitude, and just and all around fun team!

We also were getting our inner yogi on with Global Mala in Los Angeles. (RED) took part in this first time event, recruiting lots of new support for our work and spreading the word in a big way how much (RED) had raised for the Global Fund. Attendees were very impressed to learn that (RED) had raised 45 million in our first year of existence – and they were very interested in checking out the (RED) products we had on display so they could continue to contribute! We were joined by a great team of volunteers here as well – Drea, Jenny, Melodie and Maria came from all across LA and Orange Counties to join us, and Thomas even came up all the way from Oceanside, where he lives with his fellow Marine’s, to help out! Sunday was a bit slower, but we still had fun hanging out with Lena, a UCLA student, and Carol and Roquel, hospice workers that joined us for the afternoon.

All things combined, it was a big weekend for (RED) and ONE, as we continued to work to build support across the nation! Watch for updates as the Dave tour comes to California and Common hits the east coast next week!

-Brande

product red
converse
make mine red
(red)
lokahi outreach
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texas
common
global mala
one campaign
dave matthews band

Fighting AIDS in Africa with Common!

2007-09-19T12:26:00.001-07:00

Common fans show their support of Converse (RED)
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

We were really excited to get our partnership with Common launched this past weekend! Common is the spokesman for Converse (RED) – lending his voice and name to help fight AIDS in Africa. Though this tour is a short one, we are very eager to get to talk to his fans all across the country about how they can join us in this fight against AIDS and poverty. Check out the tour dates on Common’s website and myspace page – be sure to stop by and say hi if you are at any of the shows!

We kicked off our outreach project in Dallas this past Saturday night. We were lucky to have two great volunteers join us. Jimmy is a self described ‘huge U2 fan’ that first learned about (RED) through his interest in the band. Amy has been involved with poverty and AIDS related work for a while now – she also volunteers at a local elementary school, helping underserved youth, when not going to school full time. They both showed up sporting (RED) Chuck Taylor’s as well – I couldn’t ask for more! After helping me finish setting up, we went through a training, and before I knew it, my team had placed themselves right at the entrance and were catching nearly every other person walking in! On Sunday night in Austin, I was joined by Cristina, a UT bio-medical engineering student. She is studying ways to help curb the AIDS epidemic globally, and has been involved with the ONE Campaign for some time now. Like my crew on Saturday, she too jumped right in and started getting lots and lots of people signed up and informed.

I was really impressed by how knowledgeable and supportive Common fans were with the campaign – I met several Gap employees, in fact, that told me how much they liked (RED) and what it was doing. As always, we also talked to social workers, people who had volunteered in Africa and students studying poverty related issues – I’m always amazed at the diverse experiences the fans we talk to have had. Plus, everyone was very eager to play around with the two computers we have set up and opened to www.makeminered.com - I saw some very impressive shoe designs during my weekend in Texas, and likewise, fans were excited to know that by designing and ordering their shoes and ‘making them red’, they could also contribute to the Global Fund.

A big thanks to our volunteers and the Common crew for being so helpful and supportive during our first few days. Our next shows are in Minneapolis and Milwaukee – watch for more info soon!

product red
converse
make mine red

(red)
lokahi outreach
concert outreach
volunteering
activism
texas
common

Florida: part two

2007-09-19T11:55:00.001-07:00

(RED) and ONE volunteers!
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

We continued our trek through Florida this past weekend, working to spread the word about ONE and (RED) to Dave Matthews Band fans in West Palm Beach. The shows were a big success – lots of people got signed up and involved, our volunteers were great, and we even were spared the worst of Florida’s rain – especially in comparison to the night we had in Tampa!

Friday night we had yet another great crew of volunteers join us. Jeanette and Mariel hit the lawn with great success, while Brenda and Maika canvassed the concourse and helped out at the booth. Our second group of volunteers arrived, and once they received their training we were at full force! The constant flood of eager fans kept us busy right up until show time, and by the time the music started we were all ready for a break as we regrouped for the second half. Once the band was done, the flood of fans reversed its path as 18,000 people headed for the gates. Our second group of volunteers, Bo, David, Wendy, Jordan, and Eric all put forth a great final effort working the gates and catching many of the exiting fans, while Jeanette and Mariel headed up the concourse and yard area, and Maika helped pull fans into the booth. Great crew, accessible venue, and no rain: all in all, a very good night!

Saturday got off to a bit of a mild start – the crowd seemed to trickle in at a little slower rate than last night, and this gave us a chance to walk the lawn a little more before the show. We had three volunteers, as opposed to our usual average of seven or eight, and this made things a little more difficult, but our team was definitely on top of the game! Nancy came out full force, returning to the table twice sporting full sheets on her clipboard, and Tricia and Dinorah weren't the least bit intimidated by the mass of party people crowded on the lawn. The booth saw its fair share of curious and interested fans, and lots and lots of fans went home with new ONE shirts. What are the odds that there would be five fans that would fit the extra small women’s EDUN shirts in the same day? We also had a little lizard hanging out on our table all night – this IS Florida – we tried to convince fans it was Dave’s pet lizard and we were watching it for him, but people weren’t believing us.

All in all, we had a very eventful week in Florida – thanks to our stellar crew of volunteers who joined us! We’re heading off to Texas next, more updates soon…

one campaign
product red
(red)
lokahi outreach
concert outreach
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activism
florida
dave matthews band

Oh Florida...

2007-09-13T17:44:00.001-07:00

Happy DMB fans with their bands and stickers
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

We’ve had an adventurous few days here in Florida so far. I don’t think I’ve ever come to Florida for shows and came back with a report that is was ‘normal’ or ‘kinda boring’. SOMETHING of note always seems to happen in the Sunshine State, and typically that something will involve bugs, heat and/or bad weather.

Gainesville got off to a bit of a rocky start. The venue was much smaller than anyone had anticipated – we were able to have a table inside, but we couldn’t float around like we normally do. So that meant our table was in, but our volunteers were out. It ended up working fine though – we had an amazing team join us, and they pretty much talked to about every other person that was coming to the show!

Our team of volunteers included Tricia, who had volunteered with us at the Daytona 500 NASCAR event last year, Brady, a freshman at UF who has been involved with ONE for a while but was volunteering for the first time, and Christine and Leah, UF students who definitely figured out the best way to get their fellow students on board with our work! We also had Holly and Jaimie joining us, and Yee, a UF law student who was technically suppose to be volunteering for another non-profit, but that non-profit couldn’t set up and since she was already there, she joined us! They all did AMAZING – this was seriously one of the best volunteer crews we’ve worked with all year long! I love nights like the night we had in Gainesville – the odds were stacked against us, the day started off with everything going wrong, but our volunteers all showed, we had a great training, and they worked harder than we could have ever asked and even looked like they were having a good time doing it!

We hit Tampa the next afternoon, ready to work, and deal with Florida’s never ending late summer rain. We were expecting a typical light summer Florida shower while we set up. We were able to set up with no problems, we went through another great volunteer training with no problems, and we got to work with no problems, but then our luck turned. Our light summer shower turned out to be a storm of what seemed like apocalyptic proportions. Before we knew it our tents had turned into a shelter for a bunch of very wet DMB fans and our bewildered volunteer crew. Our team in Tampa included Joe, a first time volunteer who came to the show with his friend Katherina, Penny who was a first time volunteer, Missy and Dave, a couple from upstate New York who are going to school in Florida, and Sam and Kelley, who get bonus points for offering to come volunteer with about 12 hours notice! The team did great, getting hundreds of Dave fans signed up before the rain cut our night short. Loading out wasn’t much fun, but so it goes!

My team will be in West Palm Beach this weekend, and I’m heading off to start the Common Tour in Dallas – watch for more updates soon!

-Brande

one campaign
product red
(red)
lokahi outreach
concert outreach
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ONE and (RED) in Piedmont Park!

2007-09-09T08:40:00.001-07:00

DMB fans join ONE and (RED)!
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

ONE and (RED) got to take part in the massive – and some fans are saying historic! – show at Piedmont Park this past weekend. We hit up Atlanta with clipboards, white bands and stickers in hand! The show this weekend was unusual – 60,000 people in Piedmont Park and the show was a double bill with the Allman Brothers Band – pretty chaotic, but also a lot of fun.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have much of a volunteer turn out this weekend – I think people were freaked out by the size of the show and the fact that you had to take public transport and couldn’t park. Because of that, we were extra excited to have Elaine from Birmingham join us – she was already coming to the show and volunteered to spend several hours of her time with us behind the booth. We were really grateful for her help – we were pretty busy back there, and my touring partner Joe was spending most of his time floating around getting sign ups, so I definitely needed the help! I hadn’t seen Elaine since she volunteered with us at one of the U2 shows back in the fall of 2005, so it was great to get to hang out and catch up. She is one of our super volunteers – always doing amazing work for ONE and (RED) in her community in Alabama, having been involved with the campaign since its launch three years ago – we bonded over being among the small group of old timers that have been around since 2004! She also was able to fully explain to me exactly what ‘croakies’ were, and how they connected to certain styles of DMB fans…

All night long we got to meet fan after fan that was excited to be involved with ONE and (RED). In the process of talking to thousands of people, I somehow managed to become the best friend to a group of about eight 7th grade boys. They kept coming back to the table - first they were just hanging out, wanting to know ‘what can I get for free?!?!?!’, giving me flashbacks to Warped Tour. I talked to them about the campaigns though (the fact that I teach elementary and middle school aged kids when not touring definitely helped!) and eventually they all signed up and all took pins. Then they came back to get stickers.

Then they came back yet again, so I gave them all a white band on the condition that they’d each get at least three of their friends to go online and join the campaigns. They obliged, so I took their photo as a group. I then I had to sign a ‘contract’ on a piece of scrap paper stating that I most absolutely promised to put their photo online (I posted it on my flickr site, and I’m hoping BN also posts it on the (RED) blog or I might have problems…) or else they would sue me. I explained that I work for non-profits and thus had nothing to sue for, but that did not seem to register with them. Then they declared I was the coolest person at the show that day. They stopped by a few more times throughout the afternoon, somehow managing to find yet more 7th grade boys to bring with them to sign up, so I guess they are already working to make good on their word!

We also met lots of other cool people – many wearing and carrying Product (RED) items, a fan from Africa, a teacher working ONE into her curriculum this year, and countless others. Sometimes you can feel like you live in a bubble – you wonder how far these campaigns reach, but night after night of doing this work always reminds me of how people will always find their place, their purpose and calling and run with it.

We’ve got some Dave shows in Florida coming up early this week, and then I am taking off from DMB to launch an all new (RED) project with Common, something I’m really excited about. As always, more updates soon…

-Brande

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product red
(red)
lokahi outreach
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dave matthews band

We survived another weekend at the Gorge!

2007-09-03T11:56:00.001-07:00

(RED) and ONE volunteers represent!
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

The Gorge shows this past weekend were a great success – even if they got off to a windy start! Immediately after setting up our booth, we were greeted with near hurricane force winds. Most of the other vendors around us broke their tents down, be we decided to keep ours up, even if it meant we spent most of the night hanging on, trying to keep them from going airborne!

We trudged on though, working to turn Washington (RED) and spread the word about ONE. Friday night we had veteran volunteer Sammi join us, coming in from Seattle, as well as Rachel and Carnie, first time volunteers who got involved via (RED) and drove all the way up from Portland. The crew did great – they kicked off the weekend in style, getting hundreds of DMB involved with fighting AIDS and poverty. Rachel and Carnie really seemed to have a good time – they were excited by how receptive people were to hear what they were talking about. As always, the night was full of unique stories – people planning trips to Africa, Peace Corp volunteers and more – I am always amazed at the extent of stories we get to hear doing this work.

We had a great team on Saturday night – Kelly and Jason are leaders of the ONE Spokane group. Kelly is a high school teacher who was in Uganda earlier this summer, and he also brought two of his students along, Jamie and David. David is property of the Navy as of Wednesday, so we were very honored that he choose to spend the last of his free time with us. He and Jamie have been active with ONE and other Africa focused organizations at their high school. Sandra drove in with Jason and Kelly – she to is active with ONE in Spokane. Kristina was a first time volunteer who signed up to volunteer via (RED) – she came in a bit late and missed part of our volunteer training, so we were concerned that she wouldn’t feel 100% in doing outreach, but she proved us wrong, and ended up getting more sign ups than anyone! Tim had joined ONE at a U2 show a few years back, he’s not totally sure how he got on my volunteer list, but he was glad he did! Ryan first learned about (RED) via the Vanity Fair (RED) issue earlier this year – this was his first volunteer experience and he did great. Rounding out our team was Sammi from Seattle, for her second night in a row. I couldn’t even find most of our volunteers while they were working – they took to the lawn as soon as we were done with our training and talked to hundreds of fans in the process. We ended up having one of our best nights of the whole tour thanks to this amazing crew!

Sunday brought more wind, and more great volunteers. Jennifer and Sean both are involved with the ONE Spokane group, and both are also teachers. Sean teaches college part time, and Jennifer is an elementary school teacher. We also had Colette and Zach join us, a couple from Seattle that got involved as volunteers through (RED). And of course, Sammi joined us again as well! Once again, our volunteer team proved to be rockstars, getting a ton of DMB fans involved with ONE and (RED).

All weekend long, we were greeted with flashes of white bands and thumbs up from those that had joined us at an earlier show or on another tour. I also met two fans who had to buy new bands because their dog ate theirs, the best story I heard all weekend! We met countless people who shared what they were doing to fight poverty and AIDS in their own community, and heard from dozens of people that had already bought (RED) products and were excited to learn they could do more.

A special thanks to all of the volunteers that helped out this weekend – because of the location of the Gorge, everyone had to drive at least an hour and a half to join us, and we really appreciate the time and commitment of you all. A extra special big thanks to veteran volunteer Sammi, who went so far as to get a motel room so she could join us all three nights – AND she even brought me and Brian cookies!

On that note, I also want to give a quick shout out to our boy Brian 'Red Hawk' Averill – this weekend ended his summer touring as he has to head back to school tomorrow. Brian first joined us as an intern last summer and came on as a staff person this year – he’s been a true trooper, covering everything from Bonnaroo to Warped Tour to the Dave Tour, and he manages to do an amazing job in the face of constant teasing (for being from Wisconsin, for saying ‘bag’ funny, for wearing mandals, for having a red beard…) from me and the rest of our team!

We’re heading to Atlanta next (assuming that check engine light that keeps coming on in the truck doesn’t mean anything really bad…) where I’ll be joined by our New Guy Joe – watch for more updates soon!

-Brande

one campaign
product red
(red)
lokahi outreach
concert outreach
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dave matthews band

R.I.P Warped Tour 2007

2007-09-01T10:15:00.001-07:00

ONE volunteers at Warped
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

It took our boy Brian "Red Hawk" Averill a whole week to recover from finishing Warped Tour (and some heavy handed nagging on my part) but he finally did a quick write up of his final two days of punk rock and poverty!

-Brande

I went solo the last couple shows of Warped Tour, but both San Diego and L.A. had amazing volunteer crews and (relatively speaking) mild weather.

San Diego’s volunteers braved the sun at my request and did a great job of drawing people into the tent to talk about ONE, Oxfam, and the occasional voter registration. The diversity of our volunteers always impresses me, assuming we have the chance to talk. When a lull developed at the tent we discussed climate change, permaculture, lobbying in D.C., and other topics. Meeting new sets of volunteers every day leads to an erosion of names and faces so I apologize to the many San Diego volunteers whose names I can’t remember (I warned you).

While we had a higher number of sign ups in San Diego, the eleven person crew in Los Angeles decided to set the high mark for the tour. Among the many amazing volunteers we had that joined us were veteran volunteers Rachel, Viola and their friend Daniel. Rachel and Viola volunteered with us for Witness last summer, and they came out to help with ONE this time around.

We also had the pleasure of being deafened by the additional stage featuring Fear, Agent Orange, and the volunteers’ favorite: Revolution Mother. In fact we were treated to two Revolution Mother lectures; the contents of which may be found some place on YouTube.

Thanks to everyone for volunteering on Warped this year. It’s been sweaty.

-Brian

one campaign
lokahi outreach
concert outreach
volunteering
activism
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Making things a little (RED) on the DMB tour...

2007-08-27T21:41:00.000-07:00

ONE/(RED) volunteers
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

(RED) joined the ONE Campaign on the Dave Matthews Band Tour this past weekend, getting lots and lots of Milwaukee supporters involved along the way!

Our weekend kicked off with the unveiling our new set up – complete with a (RED) tent, new (RED) postcards, stickers and buttons and other promotional items – we are pretty happy with how it turned out! Our team was excited to bring the (RED) message out to DMB fans – we have spent the past three summers on tour with the band spreading the word about ONE, and know first hand how eager fans are to get involved in the fight against poverty and AIDS.

We had some stellar volunteers join us this weekend to help out. Sando and Alyssa are volunteer Milwaukee area veterans that always come out to help. Alyssa is best known for being the volunteer that once got over 500 people to join ONE at a single Warped Tour date. She hit the ground running in East Troy this weekend, ready to get tons of DMB fans involved with (RED) and ONE! We also were lucky to have a new crew of (RED) volunteers join us – including our super team on Sunday that went to town, getting in the highest average of sign ups we’ve had on the tour yet. A big thanks to everyone who came out and helped us get thousands of Dave fans involved with (RED) and ONE!

It was way cool to have fan after fan come up and show us their (RED) phone, (RED) Converse or (RED) shirt! Getting to spread the word about what (RED) and ONE are working to do is always exciting, but its especially rewarding to know that people across the country are really taking the work of the campaigns and making them their own – we met countless people that are launching projects in their schools, churches and communities to build support for the Global Fund and ONE.

We are looking forward to the month ahead and getting an opportunity to talk to thousands of more people about (RED) and ONE! Stay tune for more updates from the road…

As always, you can check out more photos on our flickr site!

one campaign
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(red)
lokahi outreach
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DMB in Detroit

2007-08-25T14:17:00.000-07:00

Our New Guy Joe gave us this quick update from a wet night in Detroit:

The day started out just as any other show. We arrived at the venue (formerly known as Pine Knob) and set up in a stretch of wooded area just outside the East gate entrance. The volunteers showed up promptly, some from clear across the state. Dan gave them the training, and with enthusiasm high they all hit the path ready to gain more signups. Then, just before Dave went on the sky became really dark. The show was postponed and the rain came down hard accented by powerful gusts of wind. We all bunkered down under the lowered One tents and held on so they wouldn't fly away. You know you have a great group of volunteers when they help hold down an aluminum tent in a thunder and lightning storm! The adverse weather passed and after the show we were able to gain many more sign ups and One band sales to spread the word. Huge thanks to all our rain soaked volunteers, and especially Mary and Kathryn for gutting it out to the very end.

-Joe

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lokahi outreach
concert outreach
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And then came Sacramento...

2007-08-23T21:37:00.000-07:00

Oxfam and ONE volunteers
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

It somehow got hotter today. I leave Warped today – going to join the Dave Matthews team as we bring (RED) out for the first time this weekend. Today was a fun day though – we had a great team of Oxfam volunteers join us, and our ONE crew of volunteers did great, even though they neared heat exhaution! Thankfully, years of doing work on Warped Tour has made me an expert at helping people recover from too much sun and heat, so they made it home safely!

I somehow acquired a fan club of Oxfam supporters. I’m not sure how it happened, but I turned my back briefly to be greeted by the three guys below yelling my name. I told them I’d post their photo on our blog, so here we go:

I got to catch part of Fishbone’s set today – very cool!

Warped has been a blast – it was the shortest amount of time we’d spent on the tour (we usually do all of it) but we made the most of our time out here, getting tens of thousands of young supporters involved with Oxfam and ONE, and we also registered hundreds of voters along the way. Brian is taking over things for the next few days – lets hope he makes it!

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Warped goes to Fresno

2007-08-22T21:36:00.000-07:00

ONE supporters at Warped
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

Brian and I got a nice day off in Portland yesterday – we laid low, enjoyed the rain, caught up on work then hit up Powel’s bookstore and got some good food. Brian got to experience Voodoo Doughnut too, though it seemed to have left him partially traumatized.

Our teasing of cold weather over the past three shows came to a cruel end today in Fresno today. Our volunteer crew made up for it though – Kim, Monica, Samantha and Derick saw our Myspace posting asking for volunteers on Monday and came out with little notice. Big thanks to Kim for rounding up people for us! They did a killer job – hundreds of Fresno punk rockers are now involved with ONE because of them, and they managed to survive the brutal heat. We met some very cool fans today as well, people that are doing some pretty impressive stuff with ONE in their community. We also got a ton of people signed up for our volunteer list – so next year, no excuses Fresno, we want your help!

We also got to make our ONE piñata today. It’s not exactly what we’d call a work of art, but, it made us happy. We’re using it at the non-profit fiesta party that is happening tonight. We can’t stay late, have to hit the road for the Sacramento show, but it’ll be nice to get to hang out with our tour mates before everyone goes home this
weekend…

one campaign
lokahi outreach
concert outreach
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Warped Tour in Portland

2007-08-21T19:25:00.000-07:00

So punk rock!
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

Portland is always one of my favorite stops of the Warped Tour. The show is always held in this big, massive field that is in the middle of nowhere, a nice change from the regiment of parking lots we usually have to deal with. Plus, it was actually COLD yesterday, pretty much the only time that will happen on Warped!

We had yet another great crew of volunteers come out and join us. James recently completed the Oxfam Change training, and Lacey was involved with Oxfam when she was a student at NYU. Also joining us was Tyler, a Lokahi volunteer that did both voter registration and ONE outreach for us. We also had Goth Mom’s son come join us: Goth Mom is the Warped Tour mom that first offered to volunteer for us back in 2005. She had taken her kids to the show, saw the ONE booth, and asked if we needed help. At some point during the day, Carlos and Jessica convinced her she should get the ‘goth makeover’ being offered by some random vendor that year, and she obliged, thus earning her nick name and some impressive eye make-up. She came back in 2006, and I was bummed I didn’t see her this year. Turns out she had to work, but her son was there, and he offered up an hour of his day to help us out, which was very cool.

Portland also involved piñatas – we are making piñatas for an upcoming ‘non-profit’ Warped Tour party being held in lovely Fresno after the show Wednesday. I can’t say what our piñata is going to be – I think the Invisible Children crew will steal it if we do – but victory is all but guaranteed…

one campaign
lokahi outreach
concert outreach
volunteering
activism
warped tour
oxfam

DMB in Indianapolis!

2007-08-20T19:21:00.000-07:00

ONE volunteers at DMB Indianapolis
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

New Guy Joe has an updated from the Dave Matthews shows in Indianapolis last weekend:

Moving from a Warped Tour Experience to DMB was quite
a shift in atmosphere. Not only the style of music,
but the whole feel of the crowd made the two almost
polar opposites, and this was a great way for me to
test my skills and push myself into uncharted
territory. We arrived at the show at around 2pm
(Warped Tour means we have to be on site at 8am!) and we were one of two non-prof tables on the tour, rather than part of a small city
like on Warped. We set up and got the volunteers up
to speed just as the doors were opening, and it was
time to go to work. Floating the crowd quickly brought
me to the realization that even though we stuck out
more in the older, laid-back crowd, this was still
hard work, and nothing is a given. The crowd was
really responsive, and positive toward the campaign,
which always gives you a boost in the field. Time flew
by, and before 'I knew it DMB was launching into their
2 1/2 hour set, and the crowd's focus was totally
enveloped in them. We rested up for the end rush that
was to come after the set was finished, and oh how it
came. As the flood of overstimulated fans bottlenecked
their way up to the gates, their eyes caught the gleam
of the white band and we were bombarded with
inquiries, donations, and sign-ups before the fans
exited into the stand still parking lots. Day two of
the Noblesville shows followed the same routine. We
had another great group of volunteers, the weather was
conducive to floating and engaging the fans, and the
end rush after the set was even more intense than the
night before. The two days of Noblesville brought
great results and another new experience for me on the
outreach tour. More shows coming up in the area, and I
hope we continue to receive this level of Midwest
love.

one campaign
lokahi outreach
concert outreach
volunteering
activism
dave matthews band

WE came to the Gorge, but our stuff didn't follow...

2007-08-19T19:16:00.000-07:00

Brian shows off our kinda sad cardboard clipboards
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

Warped Tour, if nothing else, is a tour that ALWAYS is full of surprises. You find yourself surprised at how much the young fans know about the campaigns we work on, you find yourself surprised at how long you can last in 110 heat, and sometimes, you show up for the show and find out – surprise! – that the truck with all of your stuff on it didn’t make it in. It wasn’t just our stuff that was on the truck – a good chunk of the other non-profit vendors, record labels and other sponsors were in the same predicament. Brian and I are nothing if not hardcore though, and we decided that the show must go on! So we scrambled to put together a mini booth – we snagged a table (our tables came – they were on a different truck – but tables were all that we had: no tent, no totes, no chairs even, but we fixed that by finding a big bucket we could turn over and sit on…) and begged the guys in the Guitar Center Web Lab to let us print off about 80 of our sign up sheets (which kinda worked, a big thanks to them for helping, even though their printer ran out of ink before we were done…) then we scavenged our car to see what we had in hand. Thankfully, we always take our banners and signs with us rather than put them on the truck – they get pretty trashed if we do. So we had those, plus a box of white bands, plus ONE and Oxfam shirts, some literature and pens, so really, we were good to go. I then pretended we were on some sort of designer challenge show – make a booth out of stuff you find in your car and on the ground! – and I have to admit I was pretty impressed with our ingenuity. Clipboards were the biggest thing we were missing, so we made some out of cardboard. They looked a little sad, but they DID fit the overall Warped Tour aesthetic.

The Gorge is beautiful so that countered what could have been a bummer of a day, and the weather, amazingly, was even cooler than Idaho, so we were still excited to be at work. We had three great Oxfam volunteers join us: Adrian, Stephanie and John. Stephanie recently took part in Oxfam’s Change training, so she was very well versed and ready for action. The team did great – they worked all day long and got hundreds of Warped fans involved with Oxfam, and didn’t seem to mind our rather compromised set up. All in all, we made the most of our day – we got hundreds of more people involved with ONE and Oxfam, recruited some new volunteers and got to test our clipboard making abilities…

Lokahi goes to Idaho...

2007-08-18T19:15:00.000-07:00

ONE supporter at Warped Idaho
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

Yesterday was officially the first time we have ever done a show in Idaho. Usually the Warped date of the tour hits in such a way that the overnight drive to it would be impossible for our team to complete. This year however, it fit the schedule, so we decided to give it a go. Get it? Give it a go in Idaho! This is what hanging out in a car with Brian for too long does to you…

We got lots of fans involved with what we are doing, and, importantly, worked to build up a volunteer base for the area, something we really need. All in all, Boise did represent – lots of people joined both ONE and Oxfam, registered to vote and took our information with them.

We also had two great volunteers join us. Graham and Doug go to school nearby and are very involved with Oxfam. They helped us get lots of Oxfam and ONE sign ups – Brian was so impressed that by the end of the day he was asking me, like a little kid, if ‘they could just go on tour with us? Pleeeease?’ Unfortunately, Graham and Doug had commitments that did not allow them to spend considerable time in a car, get next to no sleep, and work set up in parking lots around the country like we do on Warped, so they had to go home, but we hope to see them next summer.

The weather was by far the nicest part of the day, at least for me. After being beat up by the east coast sun and Midwest blazing humidity, Brian and I were very excited to have a day of mild temperatures…plus, nothing beats driving through the Pacific Northwest.

Warped Tour Kansas City!

2007-08-16T14:24:00.000-07:00

ONE Campaign and Oxfam volunteers at Warped!
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

Today Sumner pointed out that we were, as he put it, idiots. We of course accepted this, but when pressed as to what exactly brought him to this conclusion today, he replied that “you came back on for the worst days of the whole tour. It wasn’t even this hot in Texas!” We, unfortunately, didn’t have much oversight or say in determining when we’d be coming back on, if we had we probably would have thought twice. I didn’t think today was as brutal, but it was still pretty intense!

Nonetheless, we powered through the day – getting lots of and lots of fans involved with ONE, Oxfam, and registered to vote, and working with some very cool volunteers as well. Ashley came out and joined us in volunteer for Oxfam, and we had a team of three ONE volunteers: Jordan, Jared and Cameron. Jordan is in high school, and Cameron and Jared are recent grads. They became involved with ONE via their youth Christian organization. All four volunteers braved yet another day of wicked temperatures to talk to their peers about fighting poverty and social injustice. Lately, I’ve been placing a bigger emphasis on the peer outreach factor when training volunteers – what’s particularly cool, I think, about the concert outreach we do, is that we are using music as the unifying factor. Because we are at a show together, we become de-facto peers, something that transcends race and class and gender and age. Because of that, I think, people respond even stronger to what we are talking about than they would in other settings.

Also, I love the catering team at Warped. They got pretty mad at the fact that I guess yesterday people left catering a big mess, and we were all greeted with this sign:

For the record, my mom raised me to pick up after myself, so I can proudly say I was not one of the guilty ones – I even go out of my way to recycle…

Warped Tour St. Louis

2007-08-15T14:22:00.000-07:00

Warped fans at our Oxfam table
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

Today was my first day back on Warped for me after a six week long hiatus, and though I was really excited to be back out there, Warped responded by smacking me upside the head with what had to have been one of the hottest days on the tour in as long as I can remember. Plus, I’m admittedly kinda sick and pretty sleep deprived at this point, so I was feeling pretty wiped out. It was one of those Warped days where all you could really think about from 3:30 on was how fast you could drive to your hotel in the next town (four hours away, in the case of this evening) so that you could take a shower. Which was the first thing I did.

However, we did get some work done despite the crippling temperatures. Nick, our volunteer, was great – he got over 200 people to join Oxfam’s email list, and he is also a lead volunteer for the ONE Campaign in St. Louis. We talked to lots of people today….I love doing Warped tour, I have to admit it’s probably my favorite tour/event to do. I’m a teacher, so in part I think I just connect with talking to so many young fans in a really strong way. I’m looking forward to the week ahead, even if it means back to a 8am load in-7pm load out-7 hour drive-repeat it again schedule!

GUEST BLOG! Updates from our New Guy Joe!

2007-08-13T14:03:00.000-07:00

Our New Guy Joe with his new lady friends that joined ONE
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

Our new guy Joe gives us his version of this past week - we're pretty glad he didn't run away crying like some of the other new guys have!

From our New Guy Joe:

Westward from PA for the show in Noblesville, IN. We drove through
the night and I rediscovered just how wide Ohio is. We arrived to the venue at about 8 am and could tell it was going to be a hot day. We got the booth set up, hooked up with our two volunteers, and in no time doors were open and we were underway. The kids were very responsive, and it was nice to see that people all around are genuinely interested in the issues we are facing. The day flew by, and by the time KillSwitch was Engaging our ears without mercy, it was time to load out and hit the road back to PA.

Ohio didn't get any thinner, but night time driving, coffee, and ipods gave us the gusto to reach Burgettstown, PA where we got some sleep before the days show. The heat hadn't subsided yet, but it beats shivering any day, and the kids at the show still had plenty of energy and interest in the ONE Campaign while we floated the crowds and competed with the roars of the Warped. Volunteers brought added enthusiasm and through a great team effort we had another successful day.

Back to the open road chasing that white line to Mansfield, Mass. The weather broke and we were presented with a 79 degree day that gave us a huge boost in energy. Unfortunately, the tour truck that had our gear (and the gear of many others) had gotten not only delayed, but lost on the 10 hour drive from PA. A new challenge. We reserved our energy until it arrived and did a quick set up before 2pm, and hit the surrounding pavement to spread the word. The energy level was definitely up all around since the heat wasn't so intense. The bands were ripping, the kids were responsive and positive, and I couldn't help but be grateful for being able to be a part of it all. Despite our late start we were able to talk to a lot of fans, and in all the day was a success.

One more stop for me on the Warped adventure, so up to Darien Center, NY we went to Six Flags and the open air venue attached to it. The continued positivity of the fans, the awesome weather, and the overall opportunity of being part of the outreach, made this a great finale to my Warped week. The day went by quick, as usual, we got a lot more people signed up, and I was even lucky enough to have a quick but fully entertaining lesson in a new conspiracy theory from one friendly fan. Always an entertaining occurrence. So the day wrapped up, and Brian and I hit the road back to Chicago and while on the way finally discovered (by accident) that the rental car actually did have cruise control! I guess our expertise doesn't lie in cars. The outreach experience on tour is exciting, challenging, and something I would recommend YOU get involved in! I can't wait for the next adventure.

DMB in DC!

2007-08-12T14:19:00.000-07:00

ONE volunteer crew at DMB DC
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

Carlos and I left Pittsburgh yesterday AM and headed out for Bristow. I always like working the venue here – it has a nice layout, and we usually do pretty well. We were lucky to have yet another great volunteer team join us. Nina and Jane were a mom and daughter team that were first time volunteers – they had signed up for info on volunteering at another concert and were excited to join us in supporting ONE. Jane is a lawyer working on a theology degree, and Jane is about to start high school. I always love learning about the diverse backgrounds that our volunteers encompass! We also had Terry, who first joined ONE at Live 8 in London, Eva, who volunteered with us at the DMB shows in Charlottesville last year, and Angelina and Kelly were first time volunteers that rounded out our crew for the evening. They all did a great job, talking to fans for hours and hours and getting them involved and signed up.

We also got help from Anne, our official former stalker. She’s not really a stalker, but she is a good buddy of ours and came out to lots of shows when she was a ONE organizer in the Chicago area. Now she has a fancy office in the DC ONE office and doesn’t make it out quite as much, but she jumped at the chance to help us at the Dave show. Afterwards we did the traditional post show dinner/drinks at whatever bad random chain was still open – in this case, Friday’s. Mashed potatoes all the way around…

All in all the night was a big success – we have now signed up over 4,000 DMB fans already, and we are still pretty early into the tour. Carlos and I are driving to Chicago today – I get a day off to catch up on work for most of Monday, then I meet up with Brian to rejoin Warped Tour. Dan and new guy Joe will be covering the Dave shows next week – it should be pretty productive.

DMB in Pittsburgh!

2007-08-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

ONE Volunteer crew DMB Pittsburgh
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

I love doing shows in Pittsburgh. No particular reason why – we just do well, fans are responsive, and we have a killer volunteer team here. Brian came out to join us for the second time this week – he and Jordan were both at the Warped tour date with us two days before. Brian more or less heads up volunteer efforts for ONE locally, and we are very grateful for the fact that he comes out and joins us pretty much every time we are in town! We also had Lyzz and Riva two high school students, and Brad, Jenni and Laura rounded out our team. They powered through the night, and are responsible for the best night we’ve had on the Dave tour yet!

Carlos and I got to the venue earlier than normal, which gave us plenty of time to set up and make fun of Josh. Josh sometimes works with us – he headed up our outreach efforts on DMB last year - and this year he is on the tour doing work for Reverb. Giving him a hard time is a bit of hobby for me and Carlos, so we were glad to have some spare time before the doors opened to engage in our passion.

Once the doors opened we were off and running. The table was busy all night, we talked to tons of cool supporters, many of whom got signed up not only for ONE but also to become a volunteer for the campaign as well. We also have Edun shirts available for supporters this time around, and we are always surprised at how popular they still are!

We’ve got a four hour drive ahead of us, then we’ll be setting up for the Bristow show…

GUEST BLOG! Updates from Former Intern Brian, aka 'Red Hawk'

2007-08-11T13:57:00.000-07:00

Brian "Red Hawk" is king of Warped Tour...
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

I’m handing over the blog reigns momentarily to our Former Intern Brian, who is now known as Red Hawk (see attached photo for explanation). Here is his version of the past few weeks:

Despite the passage of only two weeks, our start on the Dave Matthews Band Tour now seems like a blur. In an epic drive, Brande drove from Long Beach, CA, to Milwaukee to retrieve me. I experienced the last 17 hours of the drive into Massachusetts. The drive was long and we hit construction making us later than we’d hoped, but that’s how touring goes.

The Massachusetts shows provided a wicked accent and the biggest donation anyone has ever given me. While I enjoyed the Boston area accent Brande made me well aware of my own Midwestern take on the word “bag.” Now I’m self conscious about it. (Editor’s note: seriously, you need to hear how Brian says the word ‘bag’. It makes me heart all of Milwaukee.)

I digress. We finished the Mass. shows and headed to Hartford where Brande split off for Virgin Music Festival and I picked Jessica up for a four show run on DMB. We had one volunteer per Hartford show and both did great to boost our numbers. Both volunteers even braved the post show mass exodus of the less than sober crowd and sold wristbands with me.

The next day put me on a 7-state drive to rejoin Warped Tour with Joe. Upon arrival we received a warm welcome back from our friends in the Take Action area (by warm I mean roughly 95 degrees plus Midwest humidity). The early mornings and late drives on Warped are a stark contrast to the DMB Tour. The first few days are always hectic, gathering forgotten supplies and adjusting to the change in schedule. Whether it was regarding the oppressive heat, general fatigue, or randomness, Joe soon became familiar with the phrase “Welcome to Warped.” This phrase especially applied on August 9th, when we returned to Massachusetts for Warped.

Not only was the whole tour late, but the semi truck containing everything we owned except our three tables got lost. At that point there’s no amount of improvisation that can save you before that truck shows up. So we waited and waited until the truck rolled in around 1:30 pm. The Oxfam interns helped us unload our stuff and we rushed through setup. The rest of the day turned out to be very productive with everyone taking turns floating and tabling.

Buffalo, New York, offered one of the cooler shows I’ve experienced and it boosted our energy. Volunteers and weather affect our work the most on Warped so when we have volunteers and/or great weather we get pumped for the day. So thank you to all of the volunteers that have helped us thus far. I hope to see some of the old West Coast volunteers in the coming days…

DMB in Philly

2007-08-08T13:59:00.000-07:00

ONE volunteers at DMB Camden
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

Philly has offered us some of our greatest highs (Live 8, U2 shows, etc) and also our…I wouldn’t call them lows, but our most…challenging dates. There is a tailgating culture that is wholly unique to the Philly/Camden area, matched only perhaps by New Jersey in its robustness, and tailgating tends to only mean one things: severe inebriation. That said, the Dave shows that Jessica and I braved the past few days were quite productive – we got lots and lots of people signed up involved with ONE, met some very cool people that are now on our list to be volunteers, and we got to experience both Tattooed Mom’s and Chickie and Pete’s, two of my favorite places in Philly to hit up when on tour.

Monday was Jessica’s birthday, so I took her out for sushi, then we hit up Tattooed Mom’s, a great dive punk bar that I’ve gone to for as long as I’ve been coming to Philly. Once inside, it only made sense that we’d run into Curt and . Curt and I had a ‘hey, I know you from somewhere totally different’ moment on the first night of the Dave tour. We quickly realized it was Warped Tour – Curt works for Epitaph Records and it’s very cool subsidiary label Anti, and was there to promote Xavier Rudd, who was opening for DMB on the first few nights of the tour.

The Camden shows were pretty fun, despite the threat of a massive thunderstorm. Jessica and I were able to set up quickly and get to work. We had three great volunteers join us on Tuesday – Brit and I had just met at the Virgin festival four days before. She came out to volunteer with her friend Brent, and we also had Maria join us, rounding out our team. They did GREAT, going non-stop for hours and getting lots and lots of fans signed up. As always, the venue staff at Tweeter was super helpful, and we owe a special thanks to merch guy Bo for letting us steal his hand cart over and over.

Jessica flew home to Seattle this AM, I’m heading out to Pittsburgh where I’ll pick up Carlos, who will be helping me out for the next two shows.

Virgin Festival!

2007-08-06T13:48:00.000-07:00

Joe talks to ONE supporters at Virgin
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

Brian and Jessica took over the Dave shows in Hartford this weekend, while me, Dan, and our new guy Joe headed down to Baltimore for the Virgin Festival. We worked Virgin last year when it was a one day event, and we were excited to get another opportunity to take part, this time over two days. After the initial shock of humidity and heat subsided, we got to work – we did both outreach for ONE and also had a Lokahi voter registration booth as well. We had a lot of success and fun – there are over 2,000 new ONE supporters and 100’s of registered voters as a result of our work, and we got to check out some great sets as well, with the Beastie Boys and the Yeah, Yeah, Yeah’s being the stand out for me at least. We got to also hang out with our friend Extrawack Bob, who was there manning the Oxfam booth. Good times all the way around, and new guy Joe didn’t seem to get scared off, which is always a bonus!

We had some cool ONE volunteers join us this weekend as well. On Saturday, Andy and Tracy came out. Andy had recently become involved with ONE, he’s in the Navy and does stuff that sounds way cooler than anything we’ll get to do. We figured it was his military training that kept him going all day strong despite the heat! He also sent us a very nice note on Monday, thanking us for the opportunity and giving us some words of encouragement – something that is always great to hear! Tracy came out on Saturday and Sunday, she’s a recent Southern California transplant living in the Baltimore area. On Sunday we also had Sara, Deidree and Sajid rounding out our team – all are involved with ONE locally. I love learning about what brings volunteers to us – it’s by far one of the most rewarding parts of what I do day in and out!

I’m back off to the Dave tour in Camden – I’ll be working with Jessica while Brian and Joe take over Warped Tour.

DMB in Boston

2007-08-03T13:43:00.000-07:00

ONE Volunteer Crew
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

DMB Boston

We kicked off our third summer on the road with the Dave Matthews Band yesterday. Getting here was a bit of a challenge – last minute approvals meant we had to pack up and leave the west coast pretty fast and more or less book it to the opposite coast to make it to the show on time. ‘You’re driving to Boston?!?!?” was the response I got most of Saturday as I informed friends of our new plans. I’ve driven coast to coast for this sort of work many times before, and there is really no other way to get a truck and a ton of stuff where it needs to be, so I guess it just doesn’t seem like all that big of a deal to me anymore. Picked up Brian in Milwaukee then we made our way to Boston, getting to the venue with literally minutes to spare. Our first volunteer crew of the summer tour was a powerhouse – we had nine Boston based ONE supporters come out to join us in all, and they were patient in putting up with the first training I had done in over a month, one done about a total of 7 hours sleep over the past three days. We ended the night with hundreds of new ONE supporters joining the campaign. On Thursday we had Amy and Wendy join us, volunteering their time to help us recruit more ONE supporters. Amy is very active with the local Boston ONE chapter – she helped us to recruit volunteers for the Boston shows - and had volunteered with us in the past. Wendy was a first time volunteer, she is from South Africa and feels a strong connection to the work of ONE. She also became our point of amusement during the night – at one point, she accidently asked fans if they wanted to ‘sign up to end world peace’, instead of world poverty, getting quizzical looks, but also getting people to stop! Once we all laughed and joked about it, it was on her brain, so she kept saying it on accident over and over!

It was great to be back on the ground with the Dave Matthews Band crew again – we are very excited about the weeks ahead!

Back with a vengeance: Warped Tour!

2007-07-03T11:04:00.000-07:00

Warped tour kicked off in California last weekend, with Lokahi in tow! This is actually the seventh summer we’ve been on Warped in some capacity, and we are very excited to get to talk to so many people – especially so many young people – about the work that our partners like ONE and Oxfam are doing. It seems like even more people are familiar and eager to get involved with these campaign than ever before – we are very excited about taking the message of ONE and Oxfam out to more Warped fans in the months ahead, and are still working to launch a pretty big voter registration effort as well. It never ceases to amaze me to see how eager people are to be involved – you can sense a real cultural shift happening, gradually fighting poverty and reforming the Farm Bill are becoming a part of every day life for a lot of people, something they are familiar and involved with.

As always, we had some very cool crews of volunteers joining us each day. On Friday we had two volunteers new to the ONE Campaign – Sarah and Hazel. Both are students, Sarah is in high school, and Hazel is about to start graduate school. They were true troopers, going along with the occasional moments of chaos as the learning curve of the first day of the tour took place! We also had two new Oxfam volunteers – Victoria and Fernando. Both were eager to jump on in and get lots of fans involved with Oxfam and reforming the US Farm Bill. On Saturday Sonya and Shannon joined us. They were deep in conversation by the time I got back to the booth to meet them – I assumed they knew each other, but as it would turn out they had just met and found out that they were both local high school teachers that were working to incorporate the issues ONE works on into their classrooms. They worked together all day long, getting hundreds of people involved with ONE, and hopefully they’ll be doing organizing in the Ventura area in the weeks to come as well. We also got to work with Shelby and Brett, two Oxfam volunteers that came up from LA to help out for the day. On Sunday we had three Oxfam volunteers – Megan, who is heading up the Oxfam Action team in San Fran and Danna, who I met at an Arcade Fire show earlier in the year, and also Jerome, a documentary photographer. I barely saw any of them all day – they were too busy floating around and talking to people!

And, finally, on Sunday in San Francisco, we had Danny and his mom, Julie, join us. Danny and Julie first learned and joined ONE when they were at the Warped Tour date in San Francisco last year. Danny was actually featured on the ONE blog earlier this year, so I was eager to meet him. He is doing a lot of work at his school, where he’ll be a sixth grader next year, to get his classmates involved with ONE. I always like having young volunteers join us – I teach during part of the year, and I like working with youth, so it’s always rewarding to see kids that are so engaged, and it’s double rewarding to know that it was our work on Warped that first got Danny involved with the campaign a year ago.

After giving Danny and Julie an overview of what we’d be doing, I had Brian, part of our touring team, finish the training I started. He came back a few minutes later. ‘Um, so Danny is talking to people about the GNP.” Friends of mine on the tour – bands, other non-profits, etc – were teasing me about engaging in child labor of some sort, but it turns out that Danny really knows his stuff, and before we knew it he was off, coming back every hour or so to hand in sheets and sheets of names and letting me know which lines of people he’d already hit up. We figured he’d gotten close to 200 people to join by the end of the day! Danny is trying to get more students his age involved with ONE in the bay area, so if you are interested in working with him, be sure to send us a message.

The tour is up in Canada this week, so we get a few days to catch our breath, but watch for more updates to come soon.

warped tour
lokahi outreach
one campaign
oxfam
concert outreach
volunteering
youth activism

Break out the tents and tables...

2007-06-27T22:28:00.001-07:00

Former Intern Brian surveys the scariness of our tour storage area.
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson

I can’t quite believe Warped Tour is about to start (didn’t it JUST end?), but once again we find ourselves about to get ready for another summer of no sleep, lots of dirt, lots of sun, canned water, long drives and most importantly, the chance to talk to tens of thousand of young people about important social issues. This summer we are excited to be taking the ONE Campaign and Oxfam back out again, and expect to be adding a few more partners in the coming weeks.

Former Intern Brian flew in to Long Beach today to help me get ready for the tour. I was pleased to see that he kept the Bonnaroo mohawk he got the week before. It looks pretty good for a free haircut, I have to admit, and it’ll fit in nice on Warped. As soon as he hit the ground we headed over to the ‘Very Scary Storage Unit’ that contains all of our tour stuff. It looks like a non-profit tabling junkyard, ‘how many tents do we own!’ was Brian’s first response when I opened the door. We managed to get through everything and get loaded up, tomorrow we pick up our tour friend Sumner and head out to Pomona to get set up. We’re pretty excited about the months ahead, and many more updates will be coming soon…

warped tour
lokahi outreach
one campaign
oxfam
concert outreach

Warped Tour is coming!

2007-06-26T10:53:00.001-07:00

Warped Tour is finally getting underway this week. We're still finalizing our overall plans for the tour, but we'll for sure be set up and hard at work at the first three California dates of the tour. Friday and Saturday we’ll be in Pomona and Ventura, doing outreach for ONE, Oxfam and the ACLU of Southern California. Sunday we’ll be in lovely San Fran building support for ONE and Oxfam. We’d love to have you join us and help out – volunteers arrive at Warped at 11am where they meet with us, get trained and then spend the day building support for important causes.

If you are interested in helping out, send us a myspace message or an email to volunteer@lokahioutreach.org. We’ll follow up with you at that point, sending you all of the info you need.

Keep watching for more updates to come soon!

Thanks!

Bonnaroo Day #4

2007-06-19T10:57:00.000-07:00

Bonnaroo wrapped up pretty well for us, despite the fact that we all breathed in about 20 pounds of dust. We were lucky to not only have two great volunteers come out to join us (ONE organizer Kim and her friend Greg) but we also had several awesome ONE supporters who were at the show offer to give up a few of their hours to help us out. A big thanks to all of you that joined us – it was no small feat given the dust and never ending sun!

It was great to talk with so many people from around the country who had come out for the festival, learning about how they know about ONE, or, why they are interested in the issues we are working on. I am always excited to see how receptive and eager people are to support the campaign – even if they have never heard of it before, almost all of those we talk to are interested in getting involved and really resonate with this idea of helping out the world's poorest. It’s inspiring to see how many people have taken the message of ONE and ran with it – organizing in their communities, schools, and so forth. On one my favorite conversations this weekend, in fact, was with a 7th grader from New Orleans who informed me that he ‘knew all about this stuff’ and had gotten his classmates involved!

Again, a big thanks to everyone that helped us out this weekend – we look forward to hopefully seeing you again this summer!

Also, we signed up some gnomes. That was pretty cool.

Bonnaroo Day #3

2007-06-17T08:24:00.000-07:00

Day three at Bonnaroo started out with priorities first: Brian got his mohawk fixed, as it was, well, at a bit of an angle, which made his whole head seem sort of tilted weird. Version two of his new ‘do turned out much better than version one:

Today was great in terms of sign ups. Kim, a local ONE organizer, came out with her friend Greg, so we had a few more hands to help out, plus a few Bonnaroo fans pitched in to help for an hour or so.

By the end of the day we had over 1000 new sign ups – by the end of Sunday we should have quite a few new ONE members, all in all!
Saw part of the Police set, had plans to see the Flaming Lips, but the long day combined with insane dust and dirt everywhere meant that the thought of going back to the hotel and taking a shower won!

one campaign
bonnaroo
concert outreach
lokahi outreach
mohawk
festival
activism

Bonnaroo Day #2

2007-06-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

Day two at Bonnaroo went well – there are four of us here, and we are staggering our day, so two of us go in early and leave a few hours earlier, the other two come in late and close up, and all of us are here for the key hours. Seems to be working – we’re doing even better than we did last year, talking to lots and lots of people.

It’s been fun talking to everyone, finding out where they are from, learning about how they know about ONE, or, why they are interested in the issues we are working on. It’s nice to have people be so receptive to the campaign – even if they have never heard of it before, 95% of those we talk to are really into getting involved and really resonate with this idea of helping out the world’s poorest – and holding our leaders accountable in doing just that. There are a few ONE staffers and members of the Product Red team here too, for the show – we put them to work when we can!

Former Intern Brian gave into peer pressure and got a mohawk. Since I’m out of the running, the real question is if Dan will join in…

Dan and Brian also got to see David Cross perform last night. We listen to his comedy albums kinda obsessively when we’re on the road, he’s our anti-hero of sorts, so that was a perk for them. Carlos and I had to hold down the booth, so we didn’t get to go, but I saw part of the Black Key’s and Aesop Rock’s set, which was very cool.

Dust and dirt = everywhere!

-Brande

one campaign
bonnaroo
concert outreach
lokahi outreach
mohawk
festival
activism
David Cross

Bonnaroo Day #1

2007-06-16T09:39:00.000-07:00

Our first day at Bonnaroo was pretty fun. We had to take a 60 mile detour because highway exists were shut down, we waited in some long lines, signed up lots of people for the ONE Campaign, and Carlos got a mohawk for clean energy. Our photo essay of the day is below:

We waited in a super long line of cars to get in.

Then we waited some more.

And some more.

Then Carlos took a clipboard and started signing up and explaining ONE people waiting in line in their cars to get in.

Then he signed up bunch of hippy kids on the side of the road that were waiting to get in.

Then we saw big horses. This has nothing to do with our story, really, but I felt like it was worth including.

Finally, we got in and were able to set up our booth.

We signed up lots of people, then Carlos got a Mohawk.

We signed up more people.

Then we went home, but we don’t have a photo of that. We realize this isn't the most exciting photo essay ever, but you get the idea: lots of people, lots of support for ONE, lots of lines, lots of dust, and lots of mohawks.

By days end we’d gotten quite a few people involved, a good start to a long weekend!

More updates soon…

one campaign
bonnaroo
concert+outreach
lokahi outreach
mohawk
festival
activism

Bonnaroo here we come...

2007-05-31T12:33:00.000-07:00

Once again you'll find the Lokahi team at the gigantic Bonnaroo festival in Tennessee later on this month. We'll be set up doing outreach for the ONE Campaign, building more and more support to make poverty history, and we can use some help!

With Bonnaroo being as massive as it is, we are only allocated a limited number of passes, basically enough for our core team to get in and set up. But we want more people on the ground spreading the word about what we are doing, and are looking to find people that have tickets and are already going to be at the concert during the four days that would like to spend part of their time volunteering for the ONE Campaign. Volunteers hang out for a few hours: get trained by us, then float about the crowd talking to people and getting them involved. It's a great way to take an active step in fighting extreme poverty, get involved with ONE and meet new people, plus we'll set you up with some very cool free ONE swag for your efforts!

If you are interested in participating, please send us a myspace message or email us.

Again, unfortunately, this opportunity is only open to those whom are already going to Bonnaroo and have tickets, but we'll be at lots and lots of other venues this summer that anyone can join us at - go here for more info how to do so!

Thanks!

bonnaroo
volunteering
one campaign
lokahi outreach
concert outreach

Social networking sites and online organizing

2007-05-30T12:45:00.001-07:00

Check out this article, written by one of our favorite bloggers, Danah Boyd, on the use of social networking websites and the internet for political organizing. She brings up some really interesting points in regards to how social networking sites can in some ways serve as a ‘public sphere’, and likewise the need for candidates and organizations to treat them as such. There is a lot of potential to reach out to unprecedented numbers of people – especially youth – in the upcoming years via this method, getting them engaged and involved with important issues. That said, there seems to be a trend amongst big organization and candidates to put up the same polished/pr approved messaging and image as they would in all of their other forms of communication. The lack of personalization is a big red flag – no one reads it for real, and because an online presence has such a big impact on how an organization or candidate is viewed, it will become increasingly important for web presences to become more and more ‘genuine’.

Anyway, as we are always interested here at Lokahi in ways to better link online and on the ground organizing, we though we’d pass this article on…

danah boyd
online organizing
lokahi outreach
youth and politics

A busy weekend...

2007-05-23T13:21:00.001-07:00

Sean and Arron spreading the word
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson.

Sorry for the lack of updates this month - the last few weeks have been spent getting things figured out and squared away for our upcoming summer touring season. This past weekend however, Lokahi was back at work with our old partners the ACLU of Southern California. We took the ACLU message of civil liberties and rights for everyone to this year’s Long Beach Pride Festival. We talked to lots and lots of folks and got a bunch of people involved with the organization. It was a great start to our soon to begin summer outreach season!

We are STILL finalizing plans for summer, but we promise that we’ll have more info and some big volunteer announcements coming ASAP!

Thanks again for your ongoing support – we look forward to seeing everyone this summer!

Spreading the word...

2007-05-03T12:24:00.000-07:00

For those of you interested, we finally made a simple web banner for Lokahi. It looks like this:

If you'd be so kind as to post it on your blog, Myspace page or web page we'd be very grateful! Spreading the word about what do always helps us get more and more people involved as volunteers.

To post the banner, just copy and paste the code below into your template setting for a blog, or under your 'About Me' or 'General Interest' section of your Myspace page:

We've been pretty busy lately, mostly preparing for summer tours and working with our after school students. We'll have a mass email going out letting you know more about volunteer opportunities once we finalize our plans for this summer, which should come any day now, we promise!

Thanks again for your support!

Students DO know more about politics than American Idol!

2007-04-17T12:49:00.001-07:00

Warped ONE supporters
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson.

Which isn't to say we are knocking American Idol - it's not my thing, but they are doing a huge promotional event to help raise awareness for ONE and former Idol Chris Daughtry is now a huge ONE supporter. But remember that old 'statistic' thrown around in 04 claiming more people voted for AI than President? Turns out it probably wasn't all that accurate.

This is a repost from the Rock the Vote Blog - good news for those of us whom know that youth are active in a wide variety of social justice causes!

Here is what the report found:

“The stereotype of the self-involved, culture-obsessed U.S. college student is wrong, according to a new study.

American college students today are actually very engaged in politics to the point that they are much more likely to know the names of their U.S. senators or congressional representatives than the names of winners of "American Idol," says political scientist Kent E. Portney of Tufts University.

His analysis of a national survey of 1,000 non-military men and women ages 18 to 24 included equal mixes of college students and non-college students and drew upbeat conclusions about the youngest cohort of potential voters.

"Young people seem to know more about politics than they know about popular culture," he said in a prepared statement. "This level of political knowledge stands in stark contrast to the image of young people as uninterested in and ignorant about politics and government."

You can find the full report here. This report only takes into consideration youth of voting age – and we know from first hand experience how involved and active high school students (and many youth even far younger than that, including our third graders involved with Lokahi’s after school programs!) are in the political process as well.

Anyway, some uplifting news as we get ready to launch into our summer outreach season. As always, stay tuned for more updates, and don’t forget to email us if you want to
volunteer!

youth voting
civics
lokahi outreach

Volunteer! With Us! This Summer!

2007-04-02T09:54:00.001-07:00

part of our volunteer crew
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson.

We've been getting a lot of emails inquiring about volunteering, and since we can sometimes lag on responding to all of the messages we get, I though it would be good to post a blog going over some common questions about volunteering.

First off, WE NEED YOU! There are a lot of people that complain about all that is wrong in the world. Then there are those of us that get up and do something about it! Hanging out at a concert and talking to a ton of people about the campaigns and issues you care about may not seem like a big deal, but trust us, it makes a HUGE impact. Never underestimate the power that you, as one individual, has to make a positive impact in the life of another person. Joining us as we reach out and build support makes a huge difference - we can't even begin to try to convey how many times we have people that first learn about a campaign at a show with us, then go on to become leaders in their community. Volunteering, especially at the grassroots level we work at, is critical to any sort of movement. And it's rewarding - you learn new skills, meet new people, and ultimately learn new stuff about yourself.

Anyway, that's my tangent. As far as volunteering with Lokahi goes, here is the low down: during the summer (and sometimes the spring and fall too!) Lokahi goes on the road! We work with lots of different organizations, we take them on tour and build support for them in the process. In the past, we have worked with the ONE Campaign, Oxfam America, a variety of civil rights organizations and voter outreach initiatives. We know for sure we'll be out on the Warped Tour this summer, most likely doing voter and environmental outreach (more info will come as we confirm stuff!) and possibly working on a few other campaigns. We'll also probably end up on one or two other major tours, as well as at lots of festivals. On average, we need about ten volunteers at least at each of these shows to be able to make the impact that we do.

You can check out our volunteer description on our Idealist page for more info, but in a nutshell, here is how volunteering works: you email us to let us know you want to be added to our volunteer list. In that email, include your name, email, phone number, nearest big city/areas you can volunteer in and age if you are under 18 (volunteers aged 16 and up are welcome to join us, those from 12 to 16 are welcome to join us as well but need to be with an adult, older sibling, etc for liability issues!). As we get closer to the dates we'll be working, we'll email you to let you know we're going to be in your town and on what date. if you can come out, you email us back and say 'yeah, put me down!' Once you confirm your availability to volunteer with us, you'll get a super long world famous email from me explaining every little thing you need to know! That email will tell you where to meet, when to meet, what to bring, etc. Once you meet with us on site, you'll get a tee-shirt, go through a training and then take to the streets (well, actually, you'll take to the arena concourse, and in the case of Warped Tour, the dirt field...) talking to hundreds of fans about the campaigns we are working on, getting them signed up and involved. It's a lot of fun and really rewarding (former volunteer vets - feel free to post a comment to confirm this!) and a great way to spend part of your day!

So, again, if you want to join us in volunteering this summer, email us to be added to our list and we'll go from there!

Thanks again - we really need volunteers like yourself joining us to make our outreach efforts and work a success!

-Brande

PS: for those of you in Los Angeles, Lokahi also runs after school programs in Pasadena at elementary schools, and we are always looking for qualified volunteers to help us out in the classroom. Email us at the same address above if you are interested in joining us for that. We are also in the process of trying to launch a similar program in New Orleans - it should be up by this summer or fall. Again, if interested, please email to let us know!

We rocked SXSW!

2007-03-25T20:10:00.001-07:00

Oxfam volunteers
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson.

A big thanks to our volunteers who joined us last week in spreading the word about Oxfam America and Lokahi. We had a great time working with the team that is part of the UT Austin Oxfam group. They were true troopers – coming out day after day and taking to the streets, talking to thousands of people about Oxfam the work the organization is doing to eliminate poverty and injustice. It was a lot of fun to be back out on the ground, talking to people about the issues we all care about – a good taste of what lies ahead for the rest of this year!

We hope that those we talked to during our week in Austin will stay involved throughout the year, joining us in our outreach and even inviting us out on tour!

Watch for more updates to come soon as we start to expand our after school programming, and begin to gear up for our summer outreach!

PS: You can check out our photos from SXSW by going here.

sxsw
oxfam
lokahi outreach

SXSW update...

2007-03-14T08:18:00.000-07:00

SXSW is going well so far – we're still in the 'low key' phase. Got into town early to check out the Interactive and Film part of the festival, and in general just get a lay of the land before the onslaught of the music industry later this week. I've already been slowly pushing our good propaganda, dropping off literature and buttons and stickers all about town and talking to people about what it is that we do.

The highlight of my two days here in Austin so far (besides stumbling up on the mega Whole Foods, which left me feeling overwhelmed and wanting to curl up in a fetal position under the locally grown organic pesticide free kumquat display) was definitely the screening of Run Granny Run. I love seeing great documentaries, and I especially love those which capture a story perfectly, and convey a much larger idea. This movie has yet to be picked up by any distributor, but do what you can to find it and see it!

Granny D, also known as Doris Haddock, first gained recognition for walking across the country at age 90 in 1999 to raise awareness for campaign finance reform. She then ran for senate in NH in 2004, going up against a two term Republican incumbent when the Democrat candidate suddenly dropped out in July of that year. She didn't think she would win, and in fact most didn't think she'd get more than 10% of the vote, but she ran to show that average citizens can and should play a role in democracy. She did end up losing, but not before showing up her opponent in a live debate and garnering nearly 40% of the vote in her state.

It was incredibly inspiring seeing the footage of this 90 year old woman walking across the country, stopping people in Chicago trying to get them to register to vote (something I have literally done myself!) - it really struck me in a way I wasn't anticipating. Seeing someone act on their convention in such a way, to take on such a burden and work so hard at her age was great! A great story and great film making. As a bonus, Granny D, now 97, was there along with the filmmaker with a Q and A session after the film.

The film ends with a statement from Granny D that I love:

"Democracy is not something we have, but something we do."

Use it as your new myspace quote!

Run Granny Run
Granny D
documentary
SXSW
South By Southwest
grassroots politics
grassroots campaigning
Lokahi Outreach

Lokahi at South By Southwest

2007-03-06T12:17:00.001-08:00

Oxfam volutneer on Warped 06
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson.

Lokahi is excited to be taking part in this years SXSW music festival. We’ll be in Austin all week, set up at events like the Industry of Music Showcase and a wide variety of other parties, showcases and public events. In order to get the message out and build support for the good stuff going on, however, we need to ‘get around’ even more – we’re hoping to be all over town during the big week, and need some help to make that happen!

Our goal for our time in Austin is to spread the word about the important work that our partner campaigns are engaged in, while also showing the music industry that music and good causes do in fact mix quite well! Lokahi was founded in part because of this history of activism in music– bands like the Clash and U2 are in part the reason we are the socially minded people we are today. It was our goal from our start to keep this spirit of activism alive and well in the music community, and we are excited to get the chance to act on this belief during SXSW!

Next week, we’ll be engaging people to take action with organizations like Oxfam America, Witness, and the ONE Campaign while also registering voters. We’d love to be set up at any and all parties and showcases, and likewise, if there isn’t space for our small set up, we’d also be very excited to just have some info literature available at your venue. We can be as low key or as big as you want, bringing very important social causes to your event in a way that blends well with the larger spirit of SXSW. We’ll help to promote your event in exchange for your hospitality, and remember, our whole deal is to take action, change the world, and do it with STYLE, so rest assured that our presence will be top notch!

Feel free to
contact us
for more information, and thanks in advance for your support!

PS: we’ll be in town from March 10th on, so we are also going to be at some of the Interactive and Film parties as well!

Witness video training

2007-02-27T08:31:00.000-08:00

We got an email today from our partner org Witness about a very cool program aimed at teaching video skills for those using the camera to document and work for social change. We've pasted some of the info below, but go here for more information. Witness is a kick ass group and made up of some very nice people to boot - def check them out!

Video Advocacy Institute
JULY 15 -27, 2007
APPLICATION DEADLINE: March 25, 2007

The WITNESS Video Advocacy Institute (VAI), the first of its kind, is an innovative intensive program that will train human rights defenders to successfully integrate video advocacy into their campaigns.

The 2007 VAI will be held in association with Concordia University’s Communications Studies Program and Documentary Centre in Montreal, Canada from July 15 – 27, 2007.

This training will provide an immersive introduction to key skills in video advocacy for a group of 25-30 dedicated human rights advocates from across the globe working on some of the most challenging human rights issues facing our world today. In this highly participatory course participants will learn how to:

* Plan the strategic use of video as a targeted tool for change in a human rights campaign, and
apply this learning to their own work
* Plan and shoot on Mini-DV video cameras, and learn the basics of editing
* Make appropriate decisions on safety, security and consent
* Craft effective advocacy narratives – ‘storytelling for action’
* Distribute their video to key audiences
* Use video as evidence
* Use online video for advocacy

During the VAI each participant will also have time to apply the learning from the sessions to planning for a project that they will be implementing in the follow-up to the Institute.

The approach will be intensive and practical, grounded in WITNESS’ 15 years of experience supporting human rights organizations in over 70 countries to use video in their campaigns. The focus will be on experiential learning which will deepen the participant’s ability to protect human rights by training them to use the power of video to create social change.

witness
human rights
video

Summer internship posting just went up!

2007-02-22T12:56:00.001-08:00

Intern Brian is very angry...
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson.

Summer SEEMS like a long way off, but it'll be here before you know it, so we have already posted information about our summer internships on Idealist.org. Every summer, Lokahi takes out about four interns for a crash course in grassroots campaigning and life on the road and on tour. If you are interested in joining us as an intern, click here for info on how and when to apply.

Thanks!

A little direct action to start your week off right...

2007-02-19T11:27:00.000-08:00

This isn’t overtly related to our work, but we wanted to kick off this week with quick blog about a gardening movement that has origins going back some 50 years, but has recently seen a resurgence in the UK and is rapidly spreading across the world. (There is even a Wikipedia article about this stuff!) We kept reading about these guys that go by the name Guerrilla Gardeners in gardening and art & culture magazines and finally got around to checking out their website. They are all about 'refurbishing urban blight' - going in and planting abandoned plots of land in urban areas...regardless if permission to do so is granted! Though it might be crossing a few public versus private land issues, we are really scratching our heads to come up with exactly what would be wrong with planting a garden in places that really need one.

Community and gardening are both big with us at Lokahi. I’m (Brande speaking now!) total a plant nerd. I have a little nursery/garden design business in addition to my other work, have been a ‘recreational botanist’ since I was about 15 and have long been involved with school and community gardens. Lokahi as an organization has also, up until the past few years, been involved with public gardens in Southern California, and we are hoping to get back involved with such work in the years ahead. And, we’re also big fans of people that take innovative approaches to fix their communities, one small piece at a time. It’s just cool to see groups coming up with fun, innovative ideas that are focused on making the world a little bit better, and acting out on them. Which is why we wanted to spotlight the Guerrilla Gardeners this week!

Anyway, do take a second to check out their work and the network of gardeners/urban crusaders and activists in their link section , and think about doing some urban guerrilla gardening of your own. If sneaking out into the night under cover with bulbs under arm is a bit much for you, keep in mind all the schools and community centers that always need some green thumbs to lend a hand. Us plant geeks need to unite and act on our ideals that gardening can indeed improve the world!

PS: some myspace links:

http://www.myspace.com/guerrillagardening
http://www.myspace.com/guerrilla_gardening

guerrilla gardening
urban renewal
activism
community gardening

Fighting poverty with the click of a button!

2007-02-14T08:06:00.001-08:00

Oxfam MTF Volunteer
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson.

Check out what our partners Oxfam America have going on at the
povertyfighters.com website. The website focuses on microfinance credit, and currently is running a campaign where college campuses compete to raise money for this credit, which helps provide development and business opportunities to individuals in some of the world’s poorest countries.

Here’s what the Oxfam myspace blog has to say:

“If you knew you could fight poverty and hunger, conserve the environment,
empower women, and combat AIDS - all with just two clicks a day - would you do it?

The Oxfam America Collegiate Click Drive is a national online
competition to generate funds for micro-credit programs worldwide. Participation is quick and easy - each click generates a $.25 donation. To compete, go to www.PovertyFighters.com. The Click Drive runs February 12th through March 30th, 2007.

The funding provides loans to help start small businesses which help lift families and communities out of poverty.

Help make a difference today! Go to www.PovertyFighters.com today to compete!”

microfinance
oxfam
global poverty
povertyfighters.com

Quick updates...

2007-02-13T08:53:00.001-08:00

Painting away...
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson.

Hello everyone…

Sorry about the dismal lack of blog updates. This is our quiet, typically non-touring time of year, so, you know, updates aren’t as exciting. Reading about how we worked on the computer all day just isn’t nearly as interesting as stories from being on the road with Dave Matthews or the Warped Tour, no matter how hard we try…

Anyhow, things have been busy for us – busy planning and getting ready for the year ahead!

We are excited to be taking part in a lot of festivals and events and concerts this year – we’ll have a complete list posted soon. We are also going to be in Austin for the next months South By Southwest music festival – we’ll be set up at various showcases and parties throughout town, and are looking for more places where we can set up and let people know about our work. If you can help us out in this regard, please shoot us an email – info (at) lokahioutreach (dot) org.

We’ve also been in school, as in teaching in the after school programs that Lokahi is involved with. Our students this year are awesome. This session, we are focused on learning about artists and art that used to create social change, and we are hopefully going to be setting up correspondence with students in Africa and Latin America. Again, if you are interested in getting involved with this project, just shoot us an email to the address above.

We’ll have more updates on all of this in the upcoming days, but we wanted to post a quick blog to say, you know, hi.

Hi!

PS: thanks to our friends over at Future Majority for their recent blog about us!

lokahi outreach
grassroots campaigning
south by southwest
sxsw
after school
future majority

Updates: We Need YOU to help Lokahi Go Green(er)

2007-01-26T16:07:00.000-08:00

Sunset over kansas
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson.

We have a LOT of cool announcements/updates about the year ahead that will be coming during the next few weeks, and an all new website we are prepping to launch any day now, so stay tuned for more info and opportunities to get involved this year!

Since we heard Ed Begley Jr. on the radio here in LA this AM, we thought today would be an ideal to announce our Green Ambitions for 2007. We are very excited to renew our commitment to going green this year. While we always make every effort we can to minimize our impact on the planet and those that produce the goods we use, being on the road all year is a very consuming and polluting business, so we want you to help us in setting the example of making our ecological imprint as minimal as possible. Some of our current plans include:

1. Moving all of our print materials (we print all of that stuff you pick up at our booth, even when it's for our partners!) to eco friend paper – no old growth, using only recycled stock, non-toxic ink, and we're going to make our designs even cooler so you'll feel really guilty if you pick up our stuff only to throw it away!

2. Switching to less gas consuming/more eco friendly trucks and vans. Believe us, we'd MUCH rather be running on hybrids, saving the environment and gas, but we've yet to find a truck or van that will fit our space and durability needs that can do so, and riding bikes just isn't gonna work. So, for now, we are looking to switch to trucks and/or vans that can help to cut down on gas consumption and on the emissions we release when on the road.

3.Promoting recycling on the tours we take part in. We're going to work with our touring partners even more to try to increase recycling.

4. Taking more environmental groups out on the road with us! What bugs us more than anything is the lack of an environmental presence on so many of the tours and festivals we are at – we're making it our objective this year to get more and more of our environmental partners out and into the world, spreading the message about their important work.

Lokahi is an organization that prides itself to being open to anything and everything, and we know we've only hit the tip of the (quickly melting) iceberg as far as what we can be doing to 'Green Up'. So send us your ideas and suggestions on how we can go greener – we'll be featuring some of the best ideas on our blog this spring! And we need help reaching those objectives we listed above – if you have any suggestions on printers, eco friendly vehicles, recycling programs and more please get in contact with us: make a comment on this blog, send an email to info (at) lokahioutreach (dot) org, or send us a myspace message.

Thanks – we look forward to hearing your ideas!

Ed Begley Jr
lokahi
going green
environment
grassroots campaigning

Our favorite people of the day...

2007-01-23T11:21:00.002-08:00

Our favorite people of the day....
Check out Lokahi's official favorite people of the day:

"Veteran activists join tree protest

Article Last Updated: 01/23/2007 02:36:19 AM PST
BERKELEY — Two of the three women are older than the tree itself, but that didn't stop them Monday from climbing into a historic oak they are desperately trying to save.
Wearing sensible shoes and ear-to-ear smiles, Berkeley City Councilmember Betty Olds, 86; Save the Bay founder Sylvia McLaughlin, 90, and former Berkeley Mayor Shirley Dean, 71, climbed a metal ladder into an 80-year-old coast live oak Monday morning.

"Together we have nearly 250 years of political experience ... nobody's going to cut us down and nobody is going to cut the oaks down," said Dean, standing on a wooden platform that had been secured between tree branches.

A group of protesters took to the trees in early December when the University of California, Berkeley, announced it would raze more than three dozen trees to make room for a new $125 million sports training facility, parking lot and offices next to Memorial Stadium. "

You can read more of the article here.

There's something to be said for waking up and just acting on what you think is right in the face of a culture that has a lot of "wrongs" in it. I feel better knowing that the world still has lots and lots of people just like these ladies in it.

I hope I can, and will still WANT, drag myself up a tree to fight the good fight when I'm 90! Rock on grandma's!

activism
environmentalism
berkeley tree sitters

Dr. King on poverty, for MLK Day...

2007-01-15T20:20:00.000-08:00

I pulled the following from Dr. King's book, "Where Do We Go From Here", published in 1967. Now 40 years old, it's striking how insightful and accurate his vision and predictions proved to be - I'm only copying the selections that deal with poverty here, but if you are interested, this work is definately worth checking out further.

Anyway, happy MLK day everyone.

"Another grave problem that must be solved if we are to live creatively in our world house is that of poverty on an international scale. Like a monstrous octopus, it stretches its choking, prehensile tentacles into lands and villages all over the world. Two-thirds of the peoples of the world go to bed hungry at night. They are undernourished, ill-housed and shabbily clad. Many of them have no houses or beds to sleep in. Their only beds are the sidewalks of the cities and the dusty roads of the villages. Most of these poverty-stricken children of God have never seen a physician or a dentist.

There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we now have the resources to get rid of it.... Why should there be hunger and privation in any land, in any city, at any table, when man has the resources and the scientific know-how to provide all mankind with the basic necessities of life? ... There is no deficit in human resources; the deficit is in human will....

The time has come for an all-out war against poverty. The rich nations must use their vast resources of wealth to develop the underdeveloped, school the unschooled and feed the unfed. The well-off and the secure have too often become the indifferent and oblivious to the poverty and deprivation in their midst. The poor in our countries have been shut out of our minds, and driven from the mainstream of our societies, because we have allowed them to become invisible. Ultimately a great nation is a compassionate nation. No individual or nation can be great if it does not have a concern of “the least of these.

The first step in the world-wide war against poverty is passionate commitment.... The wealthy nations of the world must promptly initiate a massive, sustained Marshall Plan for Asia, Africa and South America. If they would allocate just two percent of their gross national product annually for a period of ten or twenty years for the development of the underdeveloped nations, mankind would go a long way toward conquering the ancient enemy, poverty....

... In the final analysis the rich must not ignore the poor because both rich and poor are tied together. They entered the same mysterious gateway of human birth, into the same adventure of mortal life.

All men are interdependent. Every nation is an heir of a vast treasure of ideas and labor to which both the living and the dead of all nations have contributed.... We are everlasting debtors to known and unknown men and women....

In a real sense, all life in interrelated. The agony of the poor impoverishes the rich; the betterment of the poor enriches the rich. We are inevitably our brother’s keepers because we are our brother’s brother. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly."

global poverty
one campaign
poverty
activism
mlk
martin luther king

Youth Philanthropy

2007-01-14T13:58:00.000-08:00

Found this interesting article today - check it out! Good piece on young people leading the pack when it comes to philanthropy, creating needed community programs and more. I always find it inspiring to read about the work of entrepreneurs around the country that are doing good.

global poverty
one campaign
poverty
activism
philanthropy