CharityConnector

The Power of Music- Inspiring, Uniting and Igniting

Have you ever heard a song on the radio only to somehow be reminded of a feeling you felt years ago when you last heard it? You are not even sure when you last heard it, or who you were with when it was playing, but that feeling from when you heard it remains.  The power of music is ubiquitous. There is something about music that can heal you, shape you, and change the way you are feeling.  People define themselves by music, with resources like Youtube, Facebook, Spotify, Pandora, Slacker, Soundcloud, Dubstep, there are so many opportunities for individuals to be bound together by their music choices.  

By allowing individuals to express themselves through music, comment on videos, tweet at their favorite musician and learn about what their friends are listening to, there are so many ways for music to unite individuals. 

Take for example The Johnny Cash Project- a global collective art project uniting together all different takes on one song like puzzle pieces to express “A Living Portrait” of Johnny Cash. 

Or Arcade Fire and Milk Studio’s interactive film - The Wilderness Downtown that allows for individuals to enter their geographic location and then reflect with art or words at the end of the experience piecing each note together creating a quilt-like creation of each individual’s reaction.  

Another example in which composer, Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir held auditions and curated a 2,052 person choir to create a beautiful collaboration for his newest work, “Sleep” using Youtube shows the uniting power of music.  

This Tuesday at The Ainsworth, Charityconnector profiles the amazing organization, Music Unites that builds off the uniting force of music in a way that allows for individuals to not only be inspired by music but  also to use it as a way to make a difference. 

Music Unites is a 501c non-profit, dedicated to bringing music education to underprivileged children in underfunded inner city school systems.  Music Unites goal is to connect people through the universality of music by providing communities with opportunities for a rich musical experience.  

Through uniting individuals that are passionate about music and passionate about creating change in the world, Music Unites builds off of this momentum to provide opportunities for children who might not have the resources to partake in an online choir or participate in a chrome activity, but just like us, have that very same feeling of inspiration when hearing the right song. 

Come support on Tuesday to help give the gift of music.

Volunteering Then Vs Now- the new way of thinking in 2012

Generation Y is all about giving back.  We see the world as being malleable, we see the way that our impact has on the people around us, we are bound together connected through social media with a hashtag and watch how we can create trends, change the news, and create change with less than a paragraph.

Now think about our very tech-inspired generation only 15 years ago.  No facebook, no twitter, no real social tech congregation besides myspace and napster, and we all know those weren’t doing much social good.Most of us were probably in middle school,high school or college, being forced to do all extra-curricular activities to either get into the college of our choice, build our resume, or fulfill the hours needed for the sports team we were on, sorority we were in, or just to make ourselves more diverse individuals because our parents told us to get out of the house and stop playing so much Nintendo.

Our take on the world was the more we did to better ourselves, the more we learned and gave back, (whether it was because our hours were being logged or not), the more we were more diverse individuals, the faster we would achieve success.  In a very competitive market of applying to colleges and getting into the school of your choice, or the job that you were after, the more clubs you were in, more volunteering of your time you did, and the positions you had in these clubs, the better of a chance you had to succeed.  

Technology has facilitated change without necessarily physical action.  Your klout score can be your new resume.  Why does it matter how much volunteer work you have done or what you have participated in physically, if you have 3000 face book friends who are engaged in your content and can twitter about recycling and impact 8000 of your followers? 

This is where there is danger as there is no replacement for the actual action of participating in groups, events and volunteer opportunities to better yourself as well as better the world.  There are a few technology oriented companies that feel this way as well which are being showcased at CharityConnector’s event this Saturday at 121 Fulton Street.

http://dorightbebritenyc-efbevent.eventbrite.com/

One website CatchaFire,  focuses on the platform of tailoring skill based volunteer opportunities for individuals and matching these individuals to these opportunities to inspire action. If you are interested in learning more click Here

Another platform Be Social Change  is website that has created a community for people to be inspired to take action through either “BE”: (events and panels highligting innovative social entepreuners), “SOCIAL”- (meetups of diverse individuals collaborating and networking) or “CHANGE”(projects that create meaningful and sustainable impact in the NY Are).

And for those individuals who are sharing their stories of creating a disruption in the physical world around them, making changes not just from their computer but through action, TedXBigApple will be representing opportunities to not only watch these inspirational speakers from under your covers, but hopefully learn from them so that you could then create your own positive disruption. 

All in all, there might not be a parent anymore telling you that you need to stop facebooking all day, or a near end goal that you need to do the required volunteer hours to build your resume, but there are opportunities that are out there for us to get up, get out, and create change within ourselves as well as the world around us, and I can promise you it is a lot more fulfilling than tweeting about it.