Montclair performers help solve problems with music
BY GEORGE WIRT,
STAFF WRITER
THE MONTCLAIR TIMES
When there is a need, Montclair's music
community responds.
Whether it's for a new
and safer playground for local children, a rape crisis center that offers free
counseling or a soup kitchen that feeds hungry people, musicians who volunteer
under the "Parents Who Rock" banner regularly step forward to perform
at benefit concerts and work at fundraising events for these and lots of other
charitable causes.
"We're all parents
who live in Montclair,
we're all musicians, we're all at different levels of community activism, but
we like raising money for local causes," said blues guitarist Michael
Reitman. "It's the reason why we all got involved.
"We're doing what
we love to do, and that's playing music," Reitman said. "And in doing
that, we're giving back to the community."
The Parents Who Rock
membership roster includes more than a hundred musicians, singers, song writers
and performers, representing dozens of official and de facto performing groups.
Its members appear on stage and work behind the scenes.
Since the group was
founded by Alma Schneider in 2005, Parents Who Rock has raised more than
$200,000 for nonprofit organizations, church groups and educational
institutions.
Some PWR members will
doing their volunteer work at "Bradfest," an evening of live music
and dancing this Saturday, Feb. 9, upstairs at Tierney's Tavern, 136 Valley
Road. Sock Monster, the Eugene Chrysler Band and Zara Phillips will be among
the performers on stage raising money for Bradford Elementary School. Tickets
are $20 at the door, and the music is slated to start at 8 p.m.
"It's a labor of
love and it's a complete community effort," Schneider said of PWR's
volunteer projects. "It's a win, win, win, win, win.
"Parents Who Rock
benefits the musicians who need a creative outlet," Schneider noted.
"It benefits members of the community who want to go out and see good
music that is affordable. And it benefits local charitable organizations that
are in need of money."
Schneider said the
group primarily focuses its efforts on Montclair-based organizations
so that "people will be able to see where their money is going."
Among the local groups
Parents Who Rock has supported are the Montclair Fund for
Educational Excellence, the Mountainside Hospital Breast Cancer Education
Center, the Montclair Rape Crisis Center, the Montclair Public Schools
Developmental Learning Center, Volunteer Lawyers for Justice and the Family
Service League.
"We do one tribute
show each year in January where we pick one famous artist and we cover their
songs," she said. "We just did one for Tom Petty."
Proceeds from the
group's Tom Petty Tribute have been donated to assist the food pantry and soup
kitchen operated by the First 7th Day Adventist Church, 15 Elmwood Ave., which
has experienced a 20 percent jump in the number of people it serves since
Hurricane Sandy struck New Jersey.
The Rev. Paula Olivier
said the funds "will help in the purchase of proteins and vegetables that
will make it easier to provide balanced meals and food packages for our
clients."
Its fundraiser this
past January is just one of the events Parents who Rock organize each year
"We always do a
big backyard event in September," Schneider said. "It's a family
event. And people perform all day long, from 12 to six.
"In between those
times, we perform at other people's community events," she said.
In the past six months,
Parents Who Rock did a show at Yogi Berra Stadium, where they raise awareness
for the food programs and collected food donations for the Human Needs Food
Pantry; and performed at a show for Montclair Emergency
Services for the Homeless, or MESH, an interfaith group focused on homeless
people, at the opening of the new South Park plaza.
Representing PWR,
Schneider last year did a demonstration at Toni's Kitchen, which provides meals
for people in need, to encourage the use of crock-pots, which allow for easy,
healthy and inexpensive meals, and promoted local food-assistance programs
through descriptive flyers featuring the dates and times when residents can
volunteer and make donations.
Parents Who Rock has
released its second CD, "Let 'Em Play," with proceeds from the sale
benefiting Little Kids Rock, a national nonprofit organization, which is
working toward raising $50,000 to help increase music education in Montclair Public Schools.
Mayor Robert Jackson
said the Parents Who Rock volunteers have made their mark on the community.
"Parents Who Rock
is a critical component of Montclair's
philanthropic tradition," Jackson noted.
"I am always
amazed by these talented musicians who give up their time to help others,"
he said. "The rest of us can enjoy great music and contribute at the same
time. Not bad."
Encouraged by the
success of its Tom Petty tribute last month, Parents Who Rock is working on
another event scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 28.
"We're partnering
with Keller Williams Realty on a 'Kitchen Tool Exchange,'" Schneider said.
Montclair residents can
donate new or unused kitchen tools and gadgets at the exchange where the items will
be made available to other members of the community. Donors will also be able
to pick items they might need.
"Everyone is
welcome to the swap, and the leftover goods will be donated to the Soup Kitchen
and Community Services program of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, which is in
great need of kitchen/cooking supplies," Schneider said.
For more information
about Parents Who Rock, visit www.parentswhorock.com or email Schneider at
alma@parentswhorock.com.
Contact George Wirt at
wirt@northjersey.com.
