Singer-songwriter Chris Skellenger, a longtime entertainer at local watering holes, recently posted this news flash on Facebook about his nonprofit. “I just heard that starting tomorrow, Buckets of Rain is working on an urban garden with a free Muslim health clinic in the heart of one of the most destroyed parts of Detroit, a predominantly African-American community. We’re all in this together, brothers in arms.”
Again, this year, local musicians and performers are donating their time and talent to perform the Woody Guthrie classic, “This Land is Your Land” over and over (and over …) on a street corner in downtown Traverse City. They will be there, rain or shine, day and night for three straight days, singing their hearts out to help the hungry. And you can help. Buckets of Rain, the nonprofit that organized this musical marathon, provides sustainable gardens and fresh vegetables to impoverished areas of the world, including overseas and in inner-city Detroit.
As an advocate, what do you do when you feel passionate about a project and want to convince others to share your perspective? If you’re Detroit-based transportation activist Joel Batterman, you get out some Legos and planning documents, write a rap song, set it all to music and make a hilariously wonky and informative video.
The Sleeping Bear is a low budget indie movie being funded outside any major studios, by RCW Pictures, and by the generosity of contributors who believe in the script, the filmmakers, and the actors involved. Almost the entire cast and crew of The Sleeping Bear met in film school or shortly thereafter, as interns and assistants in Los Angeles, New York, or Michigan.