Today marks the first day of a new month -- December. This year this falls on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the US, which has been dubbed 'Giving Tuesday' -- a day meant to counter the spending of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. For 32 years, the first of this month has been designated World AIDS Day -- a day I have marked since having the privilege of working with so many superb people on a project directed to community based HIV/AIDS organizations in Botswana and Rwanda.
The philanthropic aspect of Giving Tuesday not only involves monetary donations to not-for-profit organizations, but volunteer time and assisting those in the neighbourhood fit the concepts espoused for this day. This may be particularly important this year with financial barriers arising where they may not have been before.
Since this blog ends with a musical selection each day, it seems apropos to note the many philanthropic ventures of those in the musical industry. The first of these efforts that hit my radar was in 1971 when George Harrison and Ravi Shankhar organized the concerts for Bangladesh -- to address poverty and famine. In 1985, Bob Geldof organized the Live Aid concert to alleviate famine in Ethiopia. This one is still very close to my heart. Canada broke the story to the world and led the international efforts to provide aid to the area. This was one of many international development fundraising concerts that involved Geldof. These concerts set the stage for musicians to donate their performances at concerts or proceeds from recordings to causes such as poverty reduction, farm crisis, and medical care and research. Lending their voices to the need for equity globally has resulted in many millions of dollars donated by fans.
It doesn't take much to search for songs or full concerts online that have been part of this collective giving. I waded through many great performances that support AIDS projects and found one that is a treasure -- four great artists together singing lyrics that speak well to the concept of the day. Stay safe. Enjoy!
That's What Friends are For -- Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight
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