Our friends at Positive Legacy and Cloud 9 Adventures have officially created a non-profit, benefiting and providing aid to communities their musical adventures visit. Ice Cream Man is proud to have been able to participate in these events while on Jam Cruise. See the press release below.
Jam Cruise 6 – Positive Legacy
Jam Cruise 8 – Positive Legacy
Cloud 9 Adventures, producers of luxurious music festivals in paradise including the 8th annual Jam Cruise, proudly announces the establishment of its nonprofit arm Positive Legacy. The organization creates meaningful opportunities for musicians and fans to become active participants in reducing the environmental impact of events they participate in and to make positive contributions to the communities they visit.
Fueled by the power of music and a passion for sustainability, Positive Legacy’s goal is to transcend cultural boundaries by learning about the needs and aspirations of the communities they travel to, and inspire music fans and artists to take action. Efforts include donation drives, gifts, financial contributions and events that allow the festival participants, artists and community members to experience their interconnectedness.
Two Positive Legacy events took place on Jam Cruise 8, earlier this month. In Jamaica, more than 100 Jam Cruise passengers and artists visited Claremont’s Rural Retreat Community Center and enjoyed a day of intercultural sharing and celebration with an enthusiastic turnout of the local community.
After visiting the area in December during Caribbean Holidaze to begin fundraising and conduct a needs assessment, the Positive Legacy team learned that the community center had a dream of starting a marching band but they couldn’t afford the instruments. In partnership with music education company Music Matters, Cloud 9 Adventures donated a full set of instruments needed to realize the dream. The retail value of the instrument donation was approximately $15,000, bringing the total value of the donations (including the items below) to over $25,000.
Donations for this project also include: *$1,000 for the community center to purchase tables and chairs
*$1,500 for local cooks to purchase and prepare a traditional Jamaican meal for the celebration
*Soccer cleats and uniforms to outfit two local teams
*A professional grade Husqvarna weed whacker to keep the soccer field clear
*Seven refurbished laptop computers donated by passengers and installed with fresh operating
systems and wireless network cards, and
*80 back packs filled with school supplies donated by passengers.
During the celebration local children treated the participants to spoken word and dance performances, Ice Cream Man handed out tasty treats and musicians from the area joined Jam Cruise musicians for a jam session. Jam Cruise artists included the members of Toubab Krewe, Dave Watts, Jans Ingber and Liza Oxnard from The Motet Play the Talking Heads, and Matt Butler and Eric Yates from Hot Buttered Rum. Leaving behind a lasting memory of that special day, South Florida artist Dave “LEBO” Lebatard painted a beautiful mural on the community center wall. While in Georgetown, Grand Cayman the following day, Positive Legacy hosted a benefit for REEF – Reef Environmental Education Foundation. 140 Jam Cruise passengers and artists learned of REEF’s efforts to protect threatened grouper spawning habitat and eradicate the invasive lionfish from local waters, as well as what divers, snorkelers, and fish consumers can do to aid in those efforts. Jam Cruise artists Hot Buttered Rum, Tim and Nicki Bluhm, Tim Carbone and Ryan Montbleau provided oceanside entertainment at the Sunset House Resort. Cloud 9 Adventures presented a check for $1,000 to the REEF educators on hand. As Cloud 9 Adventures expands and does more events in and around the Caribbean, Positive Legacy will continue in their mission to make an impact in the lives of those who live in the places visited.
For more information, photos, or to schedule an interview with Ann Kenworthy, President of Leaving a Positive Legacy’s Board of Directors, contact Madison House Publicity.
Megan McFann / megan@madisonhousepublicity.com
Carrie Lombardi / carrie@madisonhousepublicity.com
