My calendar in support of Music Rising – Happy Birthday, Edge

When Bono turned 50 I remember thinking that I wanted to do something special for Edge when he reached the same milestone.  I knew that I would be pressed for time with it only being 2 weeks after my last show on the 360 tour (Minneapolis) but I still had a dream to do something for him, no matter how hectic life may be upon my return.

For 8 years now, an organization called the “African Well Fund“, formed by U2 fans in honour of Bono’s work in Africa, has been fundraising to help build wells in Africa by donating their profits to the Africare foundation.  Every year for Bono’s birthday they ramp up their fundraising efforts through auctioning items off on E-Bay.  I’ve been buying Edge photos from them for the last couple of years – it’s very inspiring to see a group of fans give back in such a way, and they were an inspiration to me to do something for The Edge in the same vein.

While Bono’s fight for Africa is highlighted frequently via the One campaign, The Edge has several causes which are dear to his heart as well.  He sits on the Board Of Directors for the Angiogenesis Foundation, has auctioned off backstage tours and meet-and-greets for cancer charities such as Gabrielle’s Angels, is an advocate for the New York Food Bank, has long worked with the MusiCares foundation and the list goes on.

After Hurricane Katrina, The Edge founded the Music Rising charity along with Bob Ezrin – which originally served to simply replace the thousands of instruments lost by the musicians of the Gulf Coast after the disaster.  After they succeeded in aiding over 2,700 musicians, Music Rising moved on to the next phase, which was dedicated to helping churches and schools rebuild their music programs by replacing their lost instruments.   The charity has now initiated Phase Three, which is dedicated to supporting Community Musical and Cultural Organizations and Events, helping not only to rebuild but to foster an ongoing appreciation for the music of the Gulf Coast.  Music Rising was also instrumental, if you’ll pardon the pun, in helping musicians in Nashville after the floods that occurred there last summer.

I remember being glued to the TV on August 29th, 2005 and breathing a sigh of relief that it was less destructive than originally thought – and then the true picture of what was beginning to happen emerged – the flooding, the loss of life and the suffering of those who survived but were left with nothing.  These scenes will never leave my head, and it’s something that could happen to any of us – no one is safe from natural disaster no matter where they live.  I remember donating what I could at the time to the American Red Cross, wanting to do something – anything – for these poor people.  When I’d learned of the Music Rising foundation, I’d made a donation of my own the last few years – knowing that Edge was affected in a similar way as myself after seeing the devastation.  So with the personal attachment I’ve always had to the Katrina disaster, I decided that whatever I did to honour Edge’s birthday, the proceeds would go to Music Rising.

As I’d been fortunate enough to have some really great spots in GA during several of my 360 shows this summer, I’d come home with piles of great photos – many of which I’ve shared on my blog.  I’d had several of them printed professionally on 8x10s right after my return, and they came out better than I could have imagined.  I’d been so proud of how they’d turned out that I’d started to look around the photo finishing centre at the plethora of things I could get them printed on.  I could drink from a coffee mug with The Edge playing “One” in Toronto on the Music Rising Les Paul!  Get a mousepad made to preserve the memory of seeing him play the outro to “The Fly” for the very first time in East Lansing – mere feet in front of me!  Create a BBQ apron with Edge and the Gibson Explorer in… well… you get the idea.  Then, I saw a baby smiling out at me from a calendar and it was an obvious choice.  I had plenty more than 12 great photos and they would be easy enough to mail.  I came home and looked at several local outlets who made calendars, had a few ‘test’ ones printed and by August 8th had them listed on E-Bay.

Below are some photos of the calendar I decided to go with.  I was completely wowed when I’d seen it in print for the first time and I knew this would be the one to go with – they’d turned out beautifully and I knew that any U2 fan would be proud to show it off.  Sure, we all have our “official” calendars, but I knew that a unique one such as this, made with love, had a place alongside the flashy professional photography we’ve grown accustomed to.

I crunched numbers and came down to the penny, I’d charge enough to cover shipping, the production of each calendar and fees for E-Bay and PayPal and I’d pay for envelopes, trips to the post office and paper for packing slips.  When deciding on my selling price I knew that I could confidently earmark at least $4-5 for each calendar sold as a donation to Music Rising, effectively donating 100% to the cause.  Sure, it would be a lot of work, but I knew it would feel good to send them off, and I knew it would feel even better once people started receiving them.

If you haven’t already ordered one and are interested, you can view my listing on E-Bay HERE.  The cost is $30 Canadian + the exact cost of shipping.  I also include a packing slip which indicates to the buyer exactly how much of the sale will be donated to Music Rising.  Please remember to leave me feedback on E-Bay when you receive the calendar as happy customers are good for sales

Only two weeks in to the campaign I am proud to say that I’ve sold 18 calendars and raised $89 for Music Rising.  As the Christmas season approaches I am hoping to sell more – ideally I would love to raise $500, so if you know of someone who might like one please forward this link to them.   I’m looking forward to putting together my first donation to Music Rising and will update the site when I do – I will be sending donations of $100 or once/month, whichever comes first and I will keep you up to date with the progress.  (I’ve also got a quick view of the donations raised to the right on the little thermometer graphic).

If you have a U2 blog or website I would appreciate a link back to this page as well – thank you in advance!

Next year I hope to work with some other fans to make this an even bigger venture – possibly encompassing some of Edge’s other charitable endeavors as well.

And no, I didn’t really make a BBQ apron – yet.