Movatterモバイル変換

Sweet Relief Musicians Fund

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This articlerelies excessively onreferences toprimary sources. Please improve this article by addingsecondary or tertiary sources.
Find sources: "Sweet Relief Musicians Fund" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(May 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Sweet Relief Musicians Fund
The Sweet Relief Musicians Fund emblem
Founded	1994
Founder	Victoria Williams
Type	Charity
Focus	Sweet Relief Musicians Fund provides financial assistance to all types of career musicians and music industry workers who are struggling to make ends meet while facing physical or mental health issues, disability, or age-related problems.
Location	Brea,California
Area served	United States
Method	Financial Aid
Website	http://www.sweetrelief.org

Sweet Relief Musicians Fund is anonprofit charity that maintains a financial fund from which professional musicians can draw when in need of medical care or financial needs. Initially intended as a one-time CD launch benefit forVictoria Williams, Sweet Relief has evolved into a charity organization that relies on donations from artists and the public as a general fund to all professional musicians in need. The fund provides financial assistance to all types of career musicians who are struggling with their finances while facing illness, disability, or age-related problems.

History

[edit]

Founding and first CD release

[edit]

The organization was started after musician and singerVictoria Williams was diagnosed withmultiple sclerosis (MS) in 1993 and had no way to pay for her medical expenses. Money was raised through benefit concerts and the release of a CD,Sweet Relief: A Benefit for Victoria Williams, featuring artists likeLou Reed andPearl Jam.

Second CD release

[edit]

A second CD titledSweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation was released in 1996. All of the proceeds went toward Sweet Relief Musicians Fund to aid the organization. A variety of alternative rock artists volunteered their time to perform a variety of songs composed byVic Chesnutt. Some well-known artists includingGarbage,R.E.M.,Hootie and the Blowfish,The Smashing Pumpkins,Joe Henry andMadonna performed for the CD.

Services

[edit]

Sweet Relief provides service to the music community through financial assistance in the following categories:

Insurance Premiums
Prescriptions
Housing Costs
Food Costs
Alternative Therapies/Treatments not covered by insurance

Criteria for eligibility

[edit]

Candidacy for assistance depends, among other factors, on the availability of funds and the number of eligible applicants, along with the following criteria:

The applicant must be a musician who has regular public performances, or performed on at least three widely released recordings (audio or audiovisual), or written music that has been performed on three widely released recordings, or published on three occasions.
The applicant must demonstrate financial need.
Older musicians that require short-term assistance for basic needs.
Except for retired or semi-retired older musicians, the applicant must have, or recently have had, a serious medical condition. A condition is considered to be serious when it substantially affects the applicant's ability to work within or outside the music industry.

Exceptions may be made to any individual who does not meet these criteria but believes himself or herself to be eligible for assistance.