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12/11/2020

Jeremy Wilson Foundation Launches Musician Health & Services Program

The Jeremy Wilson Foundation is helping our musicians survive. Please contribute. Check their new website.

We are told:

The Jeremy Wilson Foundation (JWF), a 501(c)3 musician health and services organization, recently relaunched the organization’s website to better reflect the assistance we offer to local musicians and music industry workers in need. Coinciding with our planned year-end activities, updating thejwf.org also highlights our new Musician Health & Services Program, which provides financial assistance grants and social services to qualified applicants in Oregon and Clark County, Washington. 

The Musician Health & Services Program combines previously available JWF services, including the Musicians’ Emergency Healthcare Program and COVID-19 Oregon Musicians' Relief Fund, into one streamlined offering. Musician Health & Services Program applicants will first be connected with JWF Navigators: volunteer social workers who can help musicians  identify potential assistance from local, state, and national programs and navigate the complex healthcare system. Financial assistance from JWF may also be available for living expenses, medical expenses, or loss of income due to COVID-19 performance cancelations. Musicians and music industry workers interested in qualifying for the Musician Health & Services Program should visit www.thejwf.org/ to learn more and Apply for Assistance.

Launch of the new website and the Musician Health & Services Program come at the end of an unprecedented year for the JWF. The music industry’s shut-down due to COVID-19 challenges both the music professionals we serve and the JWF, which historically relies on ticket sales, on-site donations, and event sponsorships as our primary fundraising channel. To address the historic need for assistance in the musician community, the JWF mobilized quickly to launch special fundraising efforts -- ultimately distributing $53,000 in direct assistance to 106 musicians and music industry workers impacted by the global pandemic.

Meanwhile, with annual concerts like the Next Waltz, the Stumptown Holiday Soul Spectacular, or Mississippi Studios’ Bob Dylan Birthday Bash on hold, the JWF has lost an estimated $60,000-70,000 in potential donations. To fill this gap and provide a sustainable foundation for the Musician Health & Services Program, we are calling on generous music-lovers to sign up for a recurring monthly donation of $10 or more before December 31, 2020. 

As the JWF prepares for 2021, the organization’s growth and development during a challenging 2020 positions us to better support our musical community for years to come. “I am so grateful for the help that the JWF showed me that I was eager to return the favor so that they could be there for other musicians like me down the line who can benefit from this kind of support,” musician and JWF supporter Sydney Nash told us earlier this year. “It is truly, no hyperbole, life-changing.”

About the Jeremy Wilson Foundation: For more than a decade, the Jeremy Wilson Foundation (JWF) has been dedicated to improving the overall well-being of hard-working music professionals and their families during times of medical crisis. In addition to financial assistance for qualified recipients, the JWF offers consultative support through our volunteer social services team, connecting those we serve with additional state or federal aid and help them navigate the complex healthcare system. To date, we have provided more than $500,000 in assistance and services to hundreds of musicians in Oregon and SW Washington. For more information, visit www.thejwf.org.

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