Hunger Down Meeting
Notice and Program Summary
August 18, 7 pm
A management
subcommittee of the Hunger Down Advisory
Task Force will meet on Monday, August 18, 7
pm at the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council,
Visitor Center, 175 Main St., Pawtucket. The
purpose will be to go over details of the
program and lay out a plan to launch it. If
you want to be involved with the Task Force
or Committee and can't make it, please email
us at
musicinri@gmail.com. Please pass this
message along to anyone you can who might be
interested. A Facebook event under the
RI Music Hall of Fame Facebook page will
be posted by Thursday so please invite
people to attend and promote through social
media. Call 401-724-2200 if you have any
problems getting into the Visitor Center.
Program Summary
Hunger Down is a program
dedicated to intensifying efforts by Rhode
Island's local music, community to reduce
hunger in Rhode Island. Entertainment venues
and those managing annual entertainment
events will be encouraged to provide food
and monetary collection vehicles at all
events to become a "Hunger Down Zone."
Response from the local music community has
been extremely positive and many are anxious
to get this going.
Member venues and
artists will promote food and monetary
collections at their events and optionally
may offer various incentives including
ticket or other discounts. Venues may drop
off food and other contributions to any food
pantry or hunger relief organization, or to
the Rhode Island Community Food Bank itself.
Incentives can include
things like the following:
-
Venues or artists
could provide discounts for tickets or
other items, or free tickets for
donations at some events.
-
Those donating food
may provide email addresses to win
prizes
-
Kids may submit
selfies or photos of themselves donating
to be posted if desired or to win
prizes.
-
Venues or artists
could hold meet and greets where people
donating food or money can go backstage
pre-show and get autographs and/or
photos with artists or we could bring
outside celebrities into events or hold
special events.
-
Businesses may
provide discounts to Hunger Down
members.
Businesses may get
involved by offering prizes, collecting
food, donating products or services for sale
or auction, or making direct donations to
hunger relief in addition to other ways of
participating that will be developed.
All members of Hunger
Down (artists, venues, organizations and
businesses) will be prominently displayed on
a special website that will promote this
program and other arts-related hunger relief
efforts.
Our goal is to get the
public used to the idea that any
entertainment entity is a place to drop off
food or donate money, and encourage them to
take advantage of this so it becomes part of
our culture. We also hope to get kids across
the state involved in a worthwhile
charitable effort and encourage them to
continue doing these kinds of activities
throughout their lives. Finally, we will use
this program to promote the need for
stronger hunger relief efforts and publicize
what’s being done by existing hunger relief
entities and other ongoing efforts in an
effort to encourage donations and more
participation by the general public.
Hunger Down is currently
a project the RI Music Hall of Fame, the End
Hunger Foundation, and RIPULSE. We hope to
work as closely as possible with the Rhode
Island Community Food Bank, along with other
hunger relief and arts entities throughout
the state.
An ongoing Advisory Team
is being established to plan the official
launch of the program, assist with strategy
and administering the program going forward.
Mark Cutler and Steve Maciel will co-chair
the Advisory Team.
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