When Tony Bennett opened New York City's Frank Sinatra School for the Arts in 2001, his vision for the program included showing students that the arts are about much more than getting rich and famous.
"The school I envision would stress community service..." Bennett wrote in an open letter about the school. "I would like students to know at the onset that fame and celebrity are not the true goals of the arts. The true artist is at the service of a rigorous arts and academic program...and his craft."
For Bob Marley, music was always a means of community service as well. Through song, he aimed to teach his audience about what was happening in the world around them and illustrate how resistance to oppression might result in a more peaceful world. His son Ziggy has carried on that tradition for the bulk of his career, working with a variety of charity organizations while bringing messages of peace, love and the importance of community to his listeners. He founded the Unlimited Resources Giving Enlightenment charity to help kids, and supports Little Kids Rock which is a charity that provides free musical instruments and lessons to public school children.
Ziggy's latest charitable effort fuses all of these ideals, and he invites you, the Marley fans, to help support arts education and the idea that students of the arts may grow up to be powerful members of their communities, providing necessary services to all who they affect.
Until Wednesday, October 1, Ziggy is auctioning off a day-long visit to Henson Studio, where he has been working since August on his first children's project, a new album that will feature the likes of Willie Nelson, Elizabeth Mitchell and many others.
To enter the auction and make your bid, please visit the Charity Buzz website today.
More information is available by watching this short video about the project.
Don't miss your chance to help the next generation of artists find support and nurture their careers through Mr. Bennett's Exploring the Arts program.
More information on Exploring the Arts:
Exploring the Arts (ETA) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to strengthen the role of the arts in American education. ETA develops programs that connect private funders, individual artists and cultural institutions to public schools as a way to achieve greater equality of resources and opportunity for youth of all means and backgrounds.
ETA raised an approximate $1 million at its inaugural benefit on Sept 9th, 2007, which included a concert at Radio City Music Call at which Tony Bennett was joined on stage by John Legend, k.d. lang, Chris Botti and James Taylor. The concert was followed by a gala dinner at Rockefeller Center's summer garden at which President Bill Clinton gave an inspiring speech in support of arts education. The evening was emceed by Regis Philbin, and the live auction was presided over by Sotheby's auctioneer, Jamie Niven. The auction included contributed items from Clint Eastwood, Bruce Willis, Andre Agassi, John Travolta and Annie Leibovitz, among others. The event's co-chairs were Iris Cantor, John Desiderio and Mariana and George Kaufman. Among the evening's many special attendees were Alec Baldwin, Barbara Walters and Congressman Charles Rangel.