September was an exciting month for Musicians On Call! In our 10th year as an organization, we officially launched our second national chapter of MOC! The Miami/South Florida area can now claim Musicians On Call as a part of their community.

Our Bedside Performance Programs are underway at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, FL and will begin soon at South Miami Hospital, which is part of the Baptist Health South Florida System.

We are looking for volunteer guides and musicians who live in the area - you can apply here or contact our Miami/South Florida Program Director Michelle Klinger at michelle@musiciansoncall.org.

We’re so excited to be bringing the healing power of music to more and more cities through our Bedside Performance Program!

October is also shaping up to be a great month. We are honored to have been chosen as the October charity for The 12for12k Challenge! The 12for12k Challenge is the combination of social media awareness and fund-raising that aims to change the lives of millions worldwide. Founded by business consultant Danny Brown, its aim is to raise awareness and funds for 12 charities over the course of 2009, with a new charity being supported every month.

Will you take on the challenge?! Just $10 to support Musicians On Call, and to support the spread of acts of charity and kindness. HERE to read more about the challenge and to make your donation. If we can reach our goal of $12,000, we will have raised enough to fund another full year of Bedside Performance Programs at a healthcare facility!

We hope everyone’s having a great start to the Fall season! We’ll be back soon with more news and more ways to get involved!

Until Soon,
Civia Caroline
Manager of New Media & Creative Marketing

Hello again from MOC headquarters! It’s been a busy few weeks and we have some great news to report.
Our 10th Anniversary campaign has come to a close and we’ve raised over $18,000! We set out with a goal to raise $10,000 in 10 weeks (enough to run one bedside performance program for a year) and far exceeded that goal- raising almost twice that! We couldn’t be happier and more grateful for all the support from our donors!

We just got word today that Fox News will be airing a piece on Musicians On Call next week in NY. It may even be picked up nationally! Check it out online here- http://tinyurl.com/nzaoxz. It’s a great piece that really demonstrates the healing power of music in action.

We’re getting closer and closer to launching our new chapter in Miami this Fall! We still need volunteer musicians, so if you live in the South Florida area and would like to volunteer, please get in touch! You can fill out an application at www.musiciansoncall.org or email us at  info at musiciansoncall.org.

Thanks for the support and keep spreading the word!

Until Soon,
Civia Caroline
Manager of New Media & Creative Marketing

Everyone here at Musicians On Call was really shocked by the death of Michael Jackson last week. He’s certainly a controversial figure, but his impact on the music industry and the face of pop culture can’t be ignored.
We’ve received a couple of donations to our 10th Anniversary campaign in MJ’s honor, as well as a tribute from a couple of our volunteers that we’d like to share here (as we did on our website):

No matter what anyone has heard, or thinks of Michael Jackson, he was undeniably an icon and pioneer in the music industry. Yesterday the world felt of the loss of this legend and we volunteers at Musicians On Call feel moved to write a few words on this matter. Michael Jackson led a difficult life, full of many struggles, and yet he managed to write some of the most famous and ubiquitous pop works of the past few decades. His legacy proves that music has the power to move and inspire anyone with the ability to hear it. He shows us that music is more than the sum of its parts, but rather a communication of deep human emotion. Volunteering at Musicians On Call has shown what this really means, and what the power of music driven by human altruism can accomplish. Every day people come together in so many different ways to deliver music to heal those in need. As we commemorate the loss of an artist who helped touch the lives of so many, we look forward to the goals and trials that lie before us, and renew our hope to touch the lives of thousands more.

-MOC volunteers, Kathryn McCarthy and Zev Hurwich

I think that Kathryn and Zev put it beautifully- no matter your opinion on the man himself, his contribution to the world of music is undeniable. The fact that he’s inspired such a strong and supportive fan base also just goes to show the power of his music, and music in general. I think that if nothing else, we should all take that lesson from MJ’s impact on the world. Working at Musicians On Call (or volunteering!), we witness that power of music every day. It truly has the ability to transform a person’s experience. Even just one song can change somebody’s life- as so many people have been saying that just one of Michael Jackson’s songs changed theirs. We’re so grateful here at Musicians On Call to be able to bring that healing power of music to patients every day… and with continued support, we’ll be able to deliver it to thousands more!

Until Soon,
Civia Caroline
Manager of New Media & Creative Marketing

Hello from the NYC offices of Musicians On Call!
For those of you who may not be familiar with Musicians On Call, we are a nonprofit organization that brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients in health care facilities. Each week, volunteer musicians and volunteer guides go into facilities in New York, Philadelphia, and Nashville, and go bed to bed playing a song for the patients. It’s an amazing feeling for the volunteers, the patients, and even the caregivers, to see a smile on the face of someone who may not have had much to smile about.

It’s been a busy few months here at the NY headquarters! We’re celebrating our 10th Anniversary as an organization this Summer, and to celebrate, we’ve started a campaign to raise $10,000 in 10 weeks. We’re about 4 weeks in and have raised just over $2,000 so we’ve still got a ways to go. Check out the donation page and share it with your friends! Help us deliver the healing power of music!

Last week, our Executive Director, Dr. Leslie Faerstein, went down to Miami to meet with lots of folks in the area. We’re starting our newest chapter in Miami/South Florida this Fall and couldn’t be more excited! We’ll have two programs there right from the start- at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, and South Miami Hospital (part of the Baptist Health System). We’re looking for volunteer musicians in the area, so if you live down there (or have friends that do) and are interested in volunteering, please get in touch with us! You can apply on our website- www.musiciansoncall.org, or email us at  info at musiciansoncall.org. It takes about 2-2.5 hours once a month, usually in the early evening, and you would go room to room and play for the patients.

We can’t wait to hear from you!

Stay tuned here for more from Musicians On Call.
We’ll be checking in with our Starpolish family often!

Until soon,
Civia Caroline
Manager of New Media & Creative Marketing