Jackson Browne and Alice Cooper have put together an all-star line-up of musicians for a benefit concert to take place at the Tucson Convention Center on Thursday, March 10.
The event is a fundraiser for the non-profit Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, benefiting the newly established Fund for Civility, Respect, and Understanding. The Fund will support individuals and families affected by the January 8th shooting in Tucson, and will promote civility and respect in public discourse, schools, and the community. The fund will also work to increase awareness of mental health symptoms, prevention and treatment services.
Performers on the bill are Jackson Browne, Alice Cooper, David Crosby & Graham Nash, Sam Moore, Nils Lofgren, Keb' Mo', Jennifer Warnes, Jerry Riopelle, Dar Williams, Ozomatli, and Calexico. The event will also feature speakers including Ron Barber, who was among those wounded on January 8, NASA Astronaut Mark Kelly (Giffords’ husband), Lea Marquez Peterson (president of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce) and Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup (who introduced a nation-wide Civility Accord at the winter legislative meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C. on January 18, which has since been signed by almost 200 mayors).
The Tucson-based Fund for Civility, Respect, and Understanding—to be managed and administered by the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona—was initially set up with contributions from the family of Ron Barber. “When I was in the ICU, I thought a lot about what it would take to help our community heal and unify,” says Ron Barber. “There was a huge outpouring of goodwill, kindness and compassion after the shooting, such a contrast to what happened that day. My family and I wanted to find a way to harness that goodwill to do meaningful things in the community. In the short term, we can help those whose lives were affected on January 8. In the long term, we will work toward improving awareness of mental health issues and services and changing the tone of how we interact with each other in our schools, our communities, and in public policy discussions.”
In addition to honoring those who lost their lives or were injured physically and emotionally on January 8, the Fund’s stated objectives include: paying tribute to the first responders, citizens and medical staff who helped after the shooting; ensuring that individuals who witnessed the shootings will have the resources they need to address the emotional trauma they endured that day; increasing community understanding of mental illness and services, sponsoring programs, discussions and other activities in public schools, faith communities and in the political arena; supporting concerts and artistic events to promote civil discourse regarding public policy issues and respect for different points of view.
Tickets go on sale February 19th at 10 a.m. through the Tucson Convention Center Ticket Office 260 S. Church Ave. (10 a.m. – noon), on the web at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone (800)745-3000 and all Ticketmaster Outlets.
