Welcome to the Music For Meals campaign!
My name is Josh Wareham, and I’m a violist from St. Paul, MN.
I’m really excited to share with you all a very special project that aims to turn what started as a financial challenge into an opportunity to create a community that uses music to make a huge difference in people’s lives.
Please watch the video above, or continue reading below to learn more about Music for Meals! The various musical rewards for different levels of contribution are found at the bottom of this page, be sure to scroll down to check them out! If you aren't interested in any of them yourself, they also work as great gifts for family and friends!
The Financial Challenge
As a violist, the instrument that I play on is by far my most important tool for sharing music; it is the medium through which I create sound and communicate my musical ideas. This year, as I’ve come closer to finishing school and entering the world of professional music, I decided that I needed to find an instrument that would allow me to create the kind of sound that I want to share with others as a professional violist.
Earlier this year I found an instrument that I knew would allow me to really start my career as a violist. This viola was made by the internationally-renowned craftsman Benjamin Ruth in Boston in 2013. However, with such high quality craftsmanship there comes a justifiably high price, and like many young musicians in my situation, I then faced the challenge of finding the money to pay for this instrument. As a graduate student with preexisting student loans from the last five years of school, I knew paying for the viola would be difficult. However, I soon decided that I wanted to find a way to turn this financial challenge into an opportunity to make a positive difference in people’s lives.
The Campaign
There are several ways in which this project will use music to change people’s lives for the better:
On one level, it will help raise the money needed to pay for my new viola, which will in turn allow me to create the kind of music that I want to continue sharing with others.
I have also assigned a different reward to each level of contribution on this site, found at the bottom of this page. I’ve designed these in a way that will help me build a community of new musical relationships with all of you.
In conjunction with the online component of this campaign, I have been sharing my music and this project with my community by performing at numerous public schools and churches throughout St. Paul that culminated in a viola recital in St. Paul on May 20. Please see the campaign updates for more details!
Also, 50% of the total amount raised through this campaign will be donated directly to Open Arms of MN.
The Organization
Open Arms of MN is a non-profit organization in the Twin Cities that prepares and delivers nutritious meals free of charge to people who are living with life-threatening or chronic illnesses such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, ALS, and multiple sclerosis. Through the work of a committed staff and over 5000 volunteers, Open Arms will deliver half a million meals to people this year.
Open Arms believes that proper nutrition is essential to a healthy recovery from such severe illnesses, and for this reason they offer a variety of different menu options to help fit the various nutritional needs of each person who receives their meals. In addition to assisting their recovery, this service helps these people continue to lead independent lives. Also, Open Arms cooks and prepares almost all of their food in-house, and uses organic and sustainably-produced ingredients whenever possible. They even use community gardens to supply much of the produce that they use in their kitchen.
The Goal
It takes $3,120 for Open Arms to provide meals for one person for a year. If this campaign reaches its goal, $12,500 will be donated to Open Arms, which is enough to feed four people for an entire year.
Any amount that is raised beyond the listed goal for this campaign will also be donated directly to Open Arms.
Please share this campaign with your friends, family, or anyone else who might want to be a part of this project, even if you are unable to contribute at this time. Thank you all for being a part of this project with me; I'm looking forward to building new musical relationships with you, and I can’t wait to see what we can do together to use music to make a huge difference in people's lives!
Please feel free to contact me with any questions!
Note: This campaign will run through May 31, 2016
Select video footage courtesy St. Olaf College, Open Arms of MN, and Benjamin Ruth. Used with Permission.
My name is Josh Wareham, and I’m a violist from St. Paul, MN.
I’m really excited to share with you all a very special project that aims to turn what started as a financial challenge into an opportunity to create a community that uses music to make a huge difference in people’s lives.
Please watch the video above, or continue reading below to learn more about Music for Meals! The various musical rewards for different levels of contribution are found at the bottom of this page, be sure to scroll down to check them out! If you aren't interested in any of them yourself, they also work as great gifts for family and friends!
The Financial Challenge
As a violist, the instrument that I play on is by far my most important tool for sharing music; it is the medium through which I create sound and communicate my musical ideas. This year, as I’ve come closer to finishing school and entering the world of professional music, I decided that I needed to find an instrument that would allow me to create the kind of sound that I want to share with others as a professional violist.
Earlier this year I found an instrument that I knew would allow me to really start my career as a violist. This viola was made by the internationally-renowned craftsman Benjamin Ruth in Boston in 2013. However, with such high quality craftsmanship there comes a justifiably high price, and like many young musicians in my situation, I then faced the challenge of finding the money to pay for this instrument. As a graduate student with preexisting student loans from the last five years of school, I knew paying for the viola would be difficult. However, I soon decided that I wanted to find a way to turn this financial challenge into an opportunity to make a positive difference in people’s lives.
The Campaign
There are several ways in which this project will use music to change people’s lives for the better:
On one level, it will help raise the money needed to pay for my new viola, which will in turn allow me to create the kind of music that I want to continue sharing with others.
I have also assigned a different reward to each level of contribution on this site, found at the bottom of this page. I’ve designed these in a way that will help me build a community of new musical relationships with all of you.
In conjunction with the online component of this campaign, I have been sharing my music and this project with my community by performing at numerous public schools and churches throughout St. Paul that culminated in a viola recital in St. Paul on May 20. Please see the campaign updates for more details!
Also, 50% of the total amount raised through this campaign will be donated directly to Open Arms of MN.
The Organization
Open Arms of MN is a non-profit organization in the Twin Cities that prepares and delivers nutritious meals free of charge to people who are living with life-threatening or chronic illnesses such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, ALS, and multiple sclerosis. Through the work of a committed staff and over 5000 volunteers, Open Arms will deliver half a million meals to people this year.
Open Arms believes that proper nutrition is essential to a healthy recovery from such severe illnesses, and for this reason they offer a variety of different menu options to help fit the various nutritional needs of each person who receives their meals. In addition to assisting their recovery, this service helps these people continue to lead independent lives. Also, Open Arms cooks and prepares almost all of their food in-house, and uses organic and sustainably-produced ingredients whenever possible. They even use community gardens to supply much of the produce that they use in their kitchen.
The Goal
It takes $3,120 for Open Arms to provide meals for one person for a year. If this campaign reaches its goal, $12,500 will be donated to Open Arms, which is enough to feed four people for an entire year.
Any amount that is raised beyond the listed goal for this campaign will also be donated directly to Open Arms.
Please share this campaign with your friends, family, or anyone else who might want to be a part of this project, even if you are unable to contribute at this time. Thank you all for being a part of this project with me; I'm looking forward to building new musical relationships with you, and I can’t wait to see what we can do together to use music to make a huge difference in people's lives!
Please feel free to contact me with any questions!
Note: This campaign will run through May 31, 2016
Select video footage courtesy St. Olaf College, Open Arms of MN, and Benjamin Ruth. Used with Permission.