Let the Children Sing to Cool the World
People can do millions of small things to make the world a greener, better place; but when little kids start doing cool things too…. well that just makes us feel all warm and fuzzy!
The Cool the World project has youth raising their voice in song to reduce global warming. ‘Cool the World’ gives a clear voice to what feels like too big an issue for most people. It does what “We are the World” did for Africa – but this time, it’s a song for the environment sung by children who will inherit the future effects of global warming.
A group of 20 kids ages 5 to 13 from Los Angeles are leading the way for a campaign that is designed to make an impact in three areas: Arts, Education and the Environment. Children’s choirs from all over the world will be tapped to record “Cool the World” in as many languages as possible to start a world-wide movement: Cool the World. The song and music video, available for viewing here includes spoken word solos with more than 25 easy-for-anyone-to-follow tips on how to “teach adults to cool the world,” including “plant a garden,” “eat less meat,” “make less garbage in the first place,” “use both sides of the paper” and “don’t run the water when you brush your teeth.”
Cool The World is the brainchild of Deborah Pardes, Founder of Artists for Literacy who wrote the song and brought the young singers together through a patchwork of mom connections in Los Angeles. The children are from different schools and different neighborhoods and range in age and singing experience. Pardes asks, “Who better to sing about global warming than those who stand to lose the most if we don’t cool the world?#8221;By 2020, UNICEF predicts climate change will effect 20 million in Africa alone due to sea level rise in unprotected areas – and that’s just in Africa. That makes me think about the year 2050, and what our children will be enduring by then if we don’t all do what we can to cool the world now.”
Cool the World has a vision to not only launch a world choir campaign, but to also raise money to build a smart phone application that would share the songs as they are recorded and also enable kids and families to connect with each other and engage in a global conversation about climate change. Emoto Music donated their recording studio and their production skills for this first recording – including musicians. Serena Creative donated their film crew and editing skills. Everyone – the kids, parents, and Pardes – donated their time to learn and record the song. Cool, right? Find the kids on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PardesTweets and on Facebook.
An Indiegogo Crowd-Funding Campaign launched this week, with the hopes of raising $36,000 in 44 days to support the Cool The World Choir Campaign donations are tax deductible. Here is the link to the Indiegogo Cool The World Campaign: bit.ly/cooltheworld
And all donations are eligible for the contest to win a Nutribullet® Superfood Nutrition Extractor between now and May 30, 2013. Winners will be picked randomly from donators between these dates.
And more about ArtistsForLiteracy.org: Artists for Literacy’s mission is to influence community, public and private sector support for literacy as well as social and environmental causes. Artist for Literacy embraces all forms of art – dance, theater, film, music -to engage audiences in the conversation about literacy and activism, and their inextricable link to living a passionate, meaningful life. The non-profit organization continually seeks to foster literary, artistic appreciation, critical thinking, increased confidence, curiosity and civic participation. In 2000, it launched the Songs Inspired By Literature Project (SIBL) to raise money for free tutoring programs around the country that serve the 45 million adults who read below a 4th grade level. Songs written about books were donated by Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, Tom Waits, Rosanne Cash, Suzanne Vega and many more, including over 1,000 song submissions by emerging artists. Over 25,000 benefit CD’s were sold, and NPR, the New York Times, RollingStone, BBC were a few of the media outlets that acclaimed its impact.