Jim Guerinot, the president of Rebel Waltz, the management company in charge of such acts as Nine Inch Nails, Hot Hot Heat, the Offspring, and No Doubt, has taken it upon himself to catalyze relief efforts for Katrina victims who are not being helped by government support. Guerinot, along with music technology companies like SpeakerCraft and the Home Technology Group of Nortek-Inc., decided they wanted to get necessities directly to suffering in the Gulf Coast region — without the red tape. The group found a Costco in East Texas where they could get supplies cheaply, and a member of the Offspring who is also a pilot donated his time and money to flying a group of volunteers to Hammond, Louisiana. The group of rockers and industry folk managed to get 1.2 million pounds of supplies to a nearby relief center in Covington, Louisiana. According to spokesperson for Rebel Waltz, their mission is “that for every dollar spent, we get a dollar’s worth of supplies into needy people’s hands.” You can help by donating directly to the Wholesale Costco Warehouse in Houston, in the name of Rebel Waltz Relief Fund, 12405 N. Gessner Blvd, Houston, TX 77064 — phone: (832) 912-2353.
In other Katrina support news, Michael Jackson is in the press these days for more positive reasons than usual. Jacko has galvanized a group of superstars including Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, James Brown, and Jay-Z to record a single to raise money for Katrina victims, Billboard.com reports. Jackson has a history of charity fundraising, having raised over 60 million dollars for African famine relief with “We Are the World,” which reached number one on the Billboard charts in April of 1985.
Link:
Rebel Waltz official site
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