Morning glories, popping in here real quick to share the theme for April’s 10 on the 10th post. New to 10 on the 10th you say? Check out last month’s theme and link-up, here.
April’s 10 on the 10th
We will be sharing 10 favorite quotes, Bible verses or songs. Posts will go live on Friday 04.10.2020. Mark those calendars and start collecting your faves.
I will probably do a combination of the three. A couple of favorite quotes, some special Bible verses that speak to me and wind things up with a song!
Thinking Out Loud Thursday
Joining my friend Penny at Penny’s Passion for her weekly Thinking Out Loud Thursday, post.
iHeart Living Room Concert
Speaking of songs, what was your opinion of the the song fest entitled iHeart Living Room Concert For America hosted by Sir Elton John from his home in Los Angeles? Did you tune in? Apparently, the show was broadcast on Fox TV. And also heard on iHeart Radio in the US. The purpose of the concert featuring Elton John, Billie Eilish, Dave Grohl and Mariah Carey was to raise money for 2 U.S. charities, Feeding America and the First Responder Children’s Foundation.
[source]
When I first heard about it, I thought, ‘that’s nice.’ Didn’t plan on watching really so didn’t take note of the time or date. But then on Sunday night, we were channel surfing and came across Mariah singing “Always be my Baby.” Had to stop long enough to listen as I have always liked me some Mariah!
It was kind of cool seeing her wherever she was in her house. And her voice is still lovely, in my opinion. But then we moved on and watched the news.
According to this article on BBC.com: “The amount raised was not immediately revealed, but household goods giant Procter & Gamble gave $500,000 (£400,000), which was matched by Fox.” When I first heard about the concert, I didn’t realize it was a fundraiser so I thought to myself again, ‘that’s nice.’
Yesterday, the Day, not the Song
Never gave the concert another thought til this graphic turned up on my feed. I don’t know Johnny Holzum or Casey Cipriani.
Apparently, Casey Cipriani is an actress. Johnny Holzum is a musician. And I live under a rock.
This post on FB made me think, though. The stars involved in iHeart’s living room concert are extremely wealthy. Instead of serenading their viewing public, which brought them a good deal of limelight and publicity, couldn’t they have each made a donation toward the charities benefiting from their performances? And maybe they did. But if so, why did Fox and Procter & Gamble get the only mention as donors in the BBC article.
Oprah
I remember years ago, probably at least 15 years ago, Oprah announced that she was going to fund a school for girls in Africa. A lot of people wondered why she didn’t fund a school for girls in the U.S. I imagine I wondered that, too, but felt like it was her money and she could fund a school (or not) wherever she liked.
Then last year, while speaking to the 17th annual Maya Angelou ‘’ Women Who Lead’‘ Luncheon, Winfrey asked how much money had been raised by the event to benefit the United Negro College Fund. She was told “$1,149,950” had been donated to which Oprah pledged to match that figure. [source]
Not sure if Oprah can sing or not. But in my eyes, that’s making a difference.
This young singer‘s Clara Lionel Foundation, named for her grandparents, has focused on health and disaster preparedness since its conception in 2012. Through her foundation, Rihana has just donated $5 million to response efforts against COVID-19. The money will go toward “food banks, the purchase of protective equipment for healthcare and lab workers; establishing (and maintaining) ICUs; distributing respiratory supplies, testing, care and support” in the U.S., the Caribbean and Africa [source].
Now that girl can sing and make a difference. That’s for sure!
We had FarmAid established in 1985 to “raise awareness about the loss of family farms and to raise funds to keep farm families on the land.” Since its creation, Farm Aid has raised $57 million dollars.
About that same time there was “We are the World,” USA for Africa. Remember that song? USA for Africa has raised more than $100,000,000 to help ease the pain of poverty in Africa and the United States [source].
And before both of those, we had Band Aid, and the Christmas song “Do They Know It’s Christmas? with live concerts earning close to $150 million for the famine relief effort at the time in Ethiopia.
Bottom line, I guess the celebrities’ money is their money. They can do with it what they will. And close to a million dollars was raised by the iHeart Living Room Concert, even if it was donated by its corporate sponsors. That’s nothing to sneeze at. But my man Elton, my comadre Mariah, couldn’t you guys each fork over some matching funds, too?
Your Turn
What do you think about celebrities donating toward fighting Covid-19 or in support of other philanthropies? Did you tune in to watch the concert? If not, you still have an opportunity to do so. While you’re staying home, tune in to FOX on Monday, April 6th at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT [source].
Thanks for stopping by, my friends!! It gets mighty lonely around here these days. PC is at work, and I am home, in the house, with just our kitties and the crickets! Might be a lot more blogging in my near future. Be sure to take note of the next 10 on the 10th installment. Hope to see you then.
Stay well.
Hugs and kisses,
Dee | Grammy's Grid
I think the song fest was a waste of a good hour, it sucked, they sucked, they sounded horrible, not entertaining at all!!! And yes, the celebs should have made a donation!!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I didn’t see much of the iHeart program. Too busy watching the news. And dad gum it, I have missed another short story prompt with you again!!
Joanne
I’ve started my 10 on the 10th and have a mix of sayings and songs started. I hadn’t heard of the Iheart radio show either so I didn’t realize it was a fundraiser.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Sure enjoyed your 10 on the 10th post. Thanks for joining me.
Deb
I hadn’t heard about that concert, but it makes you wonder if celebrities do also donate some of their earnings apart from relying on the general public to contribute to good causes. I have a feeling that 1% of Elton John’s wealth is far greater than 1% of mine 😉
I know when George Michael died we found out that he had donated much of his wealth to charities without any publicity. Let’s hope that is the case here too.
I shall try to make 10 on the 10th one of the minority of blog posts that I get to put up on time – the days are all merging into one at the moment! But I shouldn’t use that as an excuse (although I probably will!)
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Good for George Michael. I always liked him. Glad he had a generous heart.
My days are all becoming very similar and bleeding from one into the next. Sadly, they almost always begin with a telephone call
from my brother with something worrisome to share about my mom. At least we have her out of rehab and into her new nursing home
apartment.
Stay healthy, my friend.
Dara
I have heard the push to celebs to donate money. I hope they are doing so as well.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I think most celebs are helping in some way.
Donna Connolly
Hi, Leslie – Apparently I live under a rock as well. I had never heard of Casey or Johnny either. But they do make a good point!
Hope all is well for you and your family. Warm hugs.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Donna. We are staying well down here but have washed our hands so much lately!!
JANET
I live in Tampa Florida and the Buccanneers just signed Tom Brady for a two year $50 million deal I feel embarssed that such things as this go on when the the country is struggling – I mean honestly how much money do these people need? and his wife has more money than he does. They have worked hard but have also been lucky in life so I am with you why don’t they step up and help out while the rest of the world losses their jobs and retirement money and can’t put food on the table for their families. I don’t want to see pictures of what they are doing while being isolated in their million dollar homes. This virus should be humbling to every American. We wonder why they are having trouble controlling the virus this is a prime example my boss (I work in a legal office – essential business supposedly) just left for N.C for a birthday party with 35 family members coming together for a one year olds birthday party this is totally unacceptable – wake up people my daughter is an ER nurse and trust me they are afraid to go to work everyday.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Oh, my. I pray your daughter remains safe throughout this ordeal. My daughter is a NICU nurse. And her husband is an xray technician. They have both been exposed to Covid-19. In the midst of all of this, my 3 year old granddaughter turned 4 and the family has just postponed her birthday celebration until the coast is clear. People can be so inconsiderate.
Thank you for stopping by and leaving me a comment. So nice to have new friends. Stay safe.
MJR
So I have a mixture of thoughts on this. Firstly, I think it’s lovely that people, celebrities, are making live videos for those that might enjoy the distraction. It appears to be a genuine effort, and perhaps not so different from those videos we all have seen and admired of local people singing from their apartment balconies to entertain each other. No one is being harmed, and some people are being cheered up, so I say let them keep coming.
Regarding donations: I think we must be very careful to not decide that we are the judge and jury on how, and how much, someone donates. That is a highly personal decision for each and every one of us, and I don’t think I would appreciate being told what to do, or worse, that my donation was to puny, and therefore I’m not inclined to do that to someone else. It seems very judgmental to me, and not in a good way, particularly when I would question how many of us really give at a level that requires significant personal sacrifice. So there you go . . . my two cents worth! 🙂
P.S. – A sidenote that I find it can be a bit difficult to read your blog due to the falling objects you insert, particular when I’m trying to do so via my cell phone. You might want to try it yourself on your cell phone, just to see how it appears there. Otherwise, is there by chance a button somewhere on your blog where I can turn off the falling leaves/flowers, or suspend them? Thanks so much!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you for this thoughtful comment. You made me think. Seeing the stars singing from their homes was similar to seeing residents serenading one another from their balconies. I hadn’t thought of that!
And it is certainly everyone’s decision how to spend their money, and whether or not to donate to this or any other charitable cause. We don’t know how (or if) they are already helping and making a difference in a number of ways.
Thank you for your response.
I looked into the Weather Effect app that has leaves falling on my blog page…and now birthday cakes for my 04.06 birthday!! I did slow down the birthday cakes so that fewer are falling on the page at a time. Hope that makes it easier to read my blog from a cell. I love how festive they look, but if they are totally obnoxious, that’s not good!! Please check them out and let me know if things are better now.
Kellyann Rohr
I have always believe that to those much is given, much is expected. Let’s hope if they have available funds they use them to help out during this pandemic!
xo,
Kellyann
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Amen!!
Christie Hawkes
Hello Leslie! I hope you and yours are all doing well. I do believe each of us should give what we can–whether that be of our time, our talents, our caring, our money…whatever resources we have. And I agree with Deb in hoping that people with a lot of money to spare are donating their resources without publicity. That said, as you pointed out, it is their money to share or not and each person has to decide for themselves. And I must say I appreciate all the artists sharing their talents for free to lift people up during this time of fear and sadness. I did not see the iHeart Living Room Concert–mostly because I forgot! Take care of yourself. Stay safe!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I hope that the celebrities are making a difference quietly. And maybe this concert was just a bonus. My girl Mariah did bring a smile to my face during the concert and someone commented that the Backstreet Boys were fabulous. I probably should have watched longer!!
Penny Struebig
Hey there! Thanks for adding this post to Thinking Out Loud Thursday. We watched the concert and thought it was good. The Backstreet Boys were a huge hit! It was fun seeing celebrities singing from their homes.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Glad you enjoyed the concert. I didn’t get to see the Backstreet Boys but bet they were good.
Joanne Tracey
Aaaah now you’re making me think…and, for the record, I must live under a rock too because I’ve never heard of Casey Cipriani or Johnny Holzum. Elton donated a heap of money to Australia’s bushfire appeals back in January – he was one of the first celebrities to do so – Pink also put her hand in her pocket for that one. Thanks for a good thought-provoking post.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Glad to know Elton John donated lots of money for the bushfire crisis in Australia. And I guess…I know…their money is theirs to spend or save, or both. Love Pink, so I am glad to know she has a big heart, too.
Jill
I love hearing about how celebrities like Rihana are giving back and making a difference. Hopefully, more are donating behind the scenes. I didn’t know about the concert, I’ll have to check it out on Monday night! Stay healthy and safe!
Jill – Doused in Pink
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I bet more of the stars are helping out with the Covid crisis than we know. I hope so. I would hope if I had all the money in the world I would help too.
Mica
It’s nice to read about the ways some of the celebrities are making a different – good news stories are always great to share around! 🙂 I imagine for them with all their money tied up in investments all the big changes in the stock markets would hit them harder than us normal people, haha! It’s good there is so many little things around we can do to support the working heroes as well, even if we don’t have a lot of extra money. Many people here have lost their jobs with this crisis.
Hope that you had a lovely weekend 🙂 We all stayed home and stayed safe, hope you did too.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
We have stayed home so much that it is a treat to ride around the neighborhood in the car. Our neighborhood has asked residents to turn on exterior house lights on Friday nights to thank health care providers for their services during this crisis. Tonight we ventured out for ice cream…an essential in my book…and it was nice to see all the lights. Happy Easter, friend!
ShootingStarsMag
I have the I Heart Radio concert taped, so I still need to watch it. I have seen a lot of tweets and the like where people are annoyed with all the singing, etc. and want celebrities to just start donating. I think the “concerts” and the like are fun and something to enjoy when the world is going crazy, but I do agree that they should also be donating and helping in other ways. Personally, I like to think they all ARE but not everybody announces these things because they don’t want to get praise for doing the right thing, you know?
-Lauren
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Great comment. Someone explained that Elton John did make most generous donations to help during the Australian bushfire crisis. I was glad to learn that. And I bet many of the stars have made quiet donations. I hope so.