-A song of hope for the Earth during pandemic crisis-

WITH YOUR HELP, WE EXCEEDED OUR GOAL OF RAISING $500 OR MORE WITH 100 DOWNLOADS BY REACHING $1,039 WITH 94 DOWNLOADS!!!!

50% SUPPORTING PARTICIPATING ARTIST / CHANGE-MAKERS AND

50% SUPPORTING A CLIMATE CHANGE-COMBATING ORGANIZATION

THANK YOU IMMENSELY FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND WONDERFUL RESPONSE TO THIS VIDEO AND SONG!

*Further funds from downloads will now go to the songwriter / producer of "Hope for the Mama," Shireen Amini*

Check out the VIDEO HERE: youtu.be/BAtmtVewlCA

ABOUT THE SONG...
Amidst the stress and grief of this pandemic crisis, I found myself feeling a curious sense of grace when I began hearing about the atmosphere clearing and evidence of regeneration in our environment as a direct result of extremely-reduced human activity / industry because of quarantine protocols worldwide. Add to that a conversation I had with a fellow activist whose excitement about real change happening with regard to a river dam removal / salmon resurgence was infectious and I became aware of a sentiment I had not felt in a LONG time in response to the state of our Earth. Hope. This little ditty came alive after that exchange, “There is hope for the mama…” and subsequently some playful verses and a vision to invite others’ voices to deliver this song and its message.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS…
I recently became connected to a whole network fo songleaders who bring soul, healing, consciousness, and activism into their work as community singing facilitators. I felt I could trust them to transmit the sentiment of this song. I also wanted to support them in staying creative and of service during these times because, as you can imagine, community gatherers are a bit out of work right now, having to find ways to make do in the virtual world…and we need them to sustain. I believe what these artists offer, seeding minds and hearts with the strength through song, goes hand-in-hand with taking direct action to shift our culture and ecosystem.

TE MARTIN, San Francisco, California
MUSICIAN / SONGLEADER / ACTIVIST
Let's Sing!: www.facebook.com/events/1058914674486833/
www.patreon.com/temartin
soundcloud.com/temartinmusic

LISA G. LITTLEBIRD, Central California
ARTIST / TEACHER / WORKSHOP LEADER
Latest album: thebirdsings.com/nightsong
Online Songleader Training: littlebirdflightschool.com

MAGGIE WHEELER, Southern California
ACTRESS / CHOIR LEADER / SONGWRITER
maggiewheeler.net
goldenbridgechoir.com

KARLY LOVELING, Eugene, Oregon
SINGER / CHOIR LEADER / SONGWRITER
singingheartchoir.com
hummingbirdsgirlschoir.com

SHIREEN AMINI, Bend, Oregon
ARTIST / PERFORMER / COMMUNITY FACILITATOR
shireenaminimusicmedicine.com
shireenamini.bandcamp.com

ABOUT THE CAUSE…
In seeking an organization that is making a direct impact on reversing climate change, I fell in love with the Coalition for Rainforest Nations. This is an intergovernmental organization of over 50 rainforest nations around the world, from Ecuador to Bangladesh to Fiji. The Coalition championed something called the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism. Among other things, it ensures developing countries get paid if they can show that they’ve been preventing deforestation, a huge source of greenhouse gas emissions, and environmental degradation. This group is believed by Founders Pledge to have had a huge impact on reducing emissions through REDD+. The group also played a big role in securing an agreement on forestry in the Paris agreement. According to Founders Pledge’s cost-effectiveness model from 2018, a donation of just 12 cents to the Coalition for Rainforest Nations will avert approximately a metric ton of CO2 (or the equivalent in other greenhouse gases). For comparison, the average American causes around 16 metric tons of emissions per year. This means that if you donate $100, you can avert around 857 metric tons of CO2.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT…
“Hope for the Mama” is a celebration of even the smallest lift in the weight of harm done to the earth; it is an offering on the altar of saying YES to healing each other and the earth in whatever ways are still possible. While we sing about hope, we also acknowledge that climate emergency continues, that Black and Brown people continue to be disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, and that for many people, being at home is not safe, beautiful, or healing. 

With all this in mind, we are affirmed by the words of Arundhati Roy:

"Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next. We can choose to walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky skies behind us. Or we can walk through lightly, with little luggage, ready to imagine another world. And ready to fight for it."

~Arundhati Roy: 'The Pandemic is Portal'"

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for supporting meaningful artist work, caring for this precious planet, and spreading the hope!