Grassroots Acoustica #22:
The Catch Up Edition
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Talking Stick Coffee Lounge
1411C Lincoln Blvd @ California
Venice
7-10 p.m.
to benefit Showing People Learning & Technology [SPLAT]
http://splatcharity.wordpress.com/
CAST:
Alfred Johnson
Jane Bolduc
Jeff Kossack
Jodi Siegel
Kevin Fisher
Nicole Gordon with Marty Axlerod as Songs of Shiloh
Shira Kreitenberg
Artists-in-residence Tom Gramlich & Byron Pfeifer
Master of ceremonies Mark Islam
Special guest Ryan Guggenheim
Guest of honor Michael Guggenheim
“Thanks again for your benefit concert. Your contribution to SPLAT was huge and I couldn't have done it without you. It is amazing how much you helped SPLAT and other charities.
Sincerely, Michael Guggenheim”
– email received several months after Grassroots Acoustica #9 (3/2008) for SPLAT, one of only 3 installments to have ever collected over $1,000
On the second Saturday of April, Grassroots Acoustica’s Catch Up Edition reconnects with teen non-profit founder & guest of honor Michael Guggenheim, whose Showing People Learning & Technology similarly compels the homing instincts of Alfred Johnson, Jodi Siegel, Kevin Fisher & Nicole Gordon with Marty Axlerod (as Songs of Shiloh), friends whom master of ceremonies Mark Islam has had pride & privilege of hosting only once in nearly 2 years and never at the new The Talking Stick Coffee Lounge where Grassroots Acoustica’s artists-in-residence Tom Gramlich & Byron Pfeifer always remain close at hand and game for goodvibes-with-guitars, as do repertory regulars Jane Bolduc & Jeff Kossack, all bound by a pact to create a coffeehouse scene whose caliber astonishes given each installment’s $0 operating budget & $0 admission fee which have somehow yielded a total of $14,436 donated to non-profit organizations serving metro L.A. Music gets underway at 7 p.m., when special guest Ryan Guggenheim kicks off edition #22 with piano pieces on behalf of older brother Michael’s SPLAT, and the kid power keeps coming with newcomer Shira Kreitenberg’s official Grassroots Acoustica debut after her last-minute unannounced cameo opening December’s now-annual musical remembrance of Nicolette Larson that brought both a record attendance as well as a record-high collection plate offering.
Michael Guggenheim’s journey to founding SPLAT begins with a childhood diagnosis of dysgraphia, a dyslexia-like motor processing impairment affecting writing instead of reading. “The tool that changed everything for me,” he writes on his blog, “was learning how to use a computer” as well as programs such as Excel, Word & PowerPoint to help him finish homework assignments as early as third grade. Guggenheim founded his own legal non-profit 501(c)3 corporation (Secretary of State's stamp and everything) to start tutoring kids living in transitional housing facilities on basic computer & typing skills, common office programs, computer games & educational software, reasoning, “Nowadays if you do not know how to type or have basic computer skills, it is difficult to get a good job…These skills are easier to learn when you are young.” He continues, “My other mission is to be able to give every child I tutor a laptop when his/her family leaves a transitional living center to a home of their own" and reports that he's now seen several students’ families graduate to their own homes and each has received a laptop to take with them.
“Thanks to my generous donors,” Guggenheim blogs, “I have a steady flow of laptops coming in but since several students will soon be moving to their own houses and more learning games are always great it would be very appreciated if any type of donation could be sent.”
To learn more about Michael Guggenheim and SPLAT or to get information on how to donate functioning used laptops, software, or tax-deductible financial donations, please visit
http://splatcharity.wordpress.com/
Michael Guggenheim on ABC Good Morning America
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ygzz0V6CmM
Michael Guggenheim on CNN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaMKWffH0MA
Michael Guggenheim L.A. Times article
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dysgraphic7jan07,1,5702958.story?coll=la-headlines-california&ctrack=3&cset=true
The Talking Stick Coffee Lounge is located at 1411C Lincoln Blvd at California in Venice. There is no cover charge for Grassroots Acoustica #22: The Catch Up Edition; however, 100% of any purely voluntary donations will benefit Showing People Learning & Technology.
GRASSROOTS ACOUSTICA NON-PROFITS TO DATE
Children Of The Night
The Blank Theatre Company
Project Angel Food
WeSpark
The Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation for Animal & Human Welfare
The Nicolette Larson Pediatric Endowment at Mattel Children's Hospital/UCLA
A New Way Of Life Reentry Project
Echo Park Film Center
Friends Of The Los Angeles River
Showing People Learning & Technology
School On Wheels
The Celebration Theatre
Shoes That Fit
Alzheimer's Association California Southland Chapter - Memory Walk
Braille Institute
House Of Hope
Much Love Animal Rescue
National Multiple Sclerosis Society Southern California Chapter Walk MS 2009
The Mimi La Rue Fund at Much Love Animal Rescue |
