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“Chad and I went to a high school that was the kind of high school for people that had trouble finishing school — something could have happened maybe they were bullied, maybe got pregnant, and other difficult situations. What’s cool about getting involved with social service projects is that we can kind of engage our fans and see what they’re interested in, see what they want to do to help the community. I think it’s just a very positive flow of energy that can only help the music.” — Pete Francis reflecting on the power of service in Nashville
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Amplifying Education volunteers hard at work making “welcome back” packages for teachers at Pleasant View Elementary School in Providence. Great day partnering with our friends at Radio 92.9 and City Year Rhode Island!
Painting, cleaning, and planting… (at Pleasant View School)
This dedicated crew from all over the Northeast joined us in Providence on Saturday for a pre-show service project with City Year Rhode Island and Radio 92.9! Volunteers left Pleasant View School with magnificent murals, a painted playground, and creative crafts to welcome students back to school… AMAZING!
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Guster and Dispatch have followed similar lines to success. Neither play jam rock (Guster’s too clean, Dispatch too dirty), but they came up in that scene. Their late-’90s indie albums connected with a generation of young hippies looking for new music and a purpose.
‘What’s great about us together is that we’ve always championed social causes and they’ve pushed environmental causes,’ Stokes said.
Both bands pioneered preshow service projects. Instead of getting loaded in the parking lot before concerts, fans often join band members cleaning parks, painting school rooms or planting crops at organic farms. All three Dispatch/Guster summer bills include projects that lead to meet-and-greets with the bands.
‘Our passions are similar and our stories are similar,’ Gardner said.
” —- Boston Herald, June 7, 2013
Registration for Saturday’s service project in Providence is now closed, but there are a few spots left in the Bay Area next weekend to join DISPATCH and Guster when we return to Full Circle Farm. SIGN UP NOW!
A great moment from the service project-ending RoShamBo tournament with Playworks Chicago on Saturday…
At Wakarusa, we met a new friend who is helping City Year #makebetterhappen in Tulsa!
Amplifying Education and Playworks Chicago volunteers get psyched just before DISPATCH takes the stage in Chicago at the UIC Pavilion!