“You must be the change you want to see in the world.” —Gandhi
Our Non-Profit Village is dedicated to the vision of helping to make the world a better place through political, environmental and social activism. Please be sure to stop by during the Vibes weekend! In the meantime, you can visit the links below to learn more about these important, worthwhile organizations. Please visit our Green Vibes page for more info on our green initiatives. Below are the Non-Profit Organizations that were represented at Vibes in 2012.
Rex Foundation
Furthering what the Grateful Dead started 26 years ago with its own benefit concerts and other fundraising initiatives, the Rex Foundation endeavors to fund grassroots programs that are often under the radar of larger funding entities, yet work in bold, innovative ways to carry out essential work toward a healthy environment, promotion of the arts, protection of indigenous cultures, assisting others less fortunate, building strong communities and educating children and adults everywhere. The Rex Foundation has distributed $8.6 million in grants to over 1,000 programs across the U.S. and internationally, while also carrying out initiatives that foster creativity and positive community connections. The Rex Foundation website provides a complete list of grantees as well as information about current initiatives.
American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut
The ACLU is our nation’s guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country. We staunchly support every person’s right to make personal decisions – without government interference – about religion, political ideals, reproductive choice, marriage, and other family and lifestyle matters. We are working to make sure that emerging technologies do not diminish our rights to privacy and that freedom of speech is protected in cyberspace. The ACLU’s mission remains realizing the promise of the Bill of Rights for all and expanding the reach of its guarantees to new areas.
Bridgeport Community Gardens
Through the Connecticut Community Gardening Association we create and maintain community gardens in Bridgeport on vacant lots to promote health, community and recreation across racial, ethnic, economic and generational lines with neighbors who each have their own plot. We support locally and organically grown food for better health, community and a better planet.
Bridgeport Regional Business Council
Our mission will be promoting the City of Bridgeport. Our booth will represent the Bridgeport Regional Business Council (local businesses), the Chamber of Commerce and the various attractions here in the City of Bridgeport such as the Barnum Museum, The Discovery Museum, Beardsley Zoo, Harbour Yard (our Bluefish Baseball team stadium) The Arena at Harbour Yard, The Klein Auditorium, Downtown Cabaret Theatre and many restaurants and venues. We will be providing information and maps as it relates to Bridgeport and the surrounding area and basic information such as the closest pharmacy, Home Depot, places to obtain supplies, etc. We will serve as an informational resource to concert goers and represent the City of Bridgeport.
Cell Motion BioBus
www.biobus.org
Explore the inner lives of barnacles, star fish, snails, and single-celled sea creatures aboard the BioBus, the earth-friendliest mobile science lab. Say hello to Dr. Ben and his team of scientists, use research microscopes to meet tiny monsters from the ocean waters, and learn how wind, solar, and biofuels can fuel scientific discovery. New this year, check out the BioBus green roof that demonstrates plants can grow anywhere, even on the roof of a bus. Kids, join us for our special events where you will get an even deeper look at ocean life.
Connecticut Community Boating
The mission of Connecticut Community Boating, Inc. is to offer area residents affordable and fun access to Long Island Sound and its headwaters. We provide a physically and psychologically beneficial experience while keeping our students safety and enjoyment, our first priority. We do this through a complete array of training programs that emphasize self-esteem building, seamanship, teamwork, community consciousness and environmental responsibility, while promoting good stewardship of our greatest natural resource, Long Island Sound.
CT Clean Energy Fund with Clean Energy Finance & Investment Authority (CEFIA)
CEFIA was established by Connecticut’s General Assembly on July 1, 2011 as a part of Public Act 11-80. This new quasi-public agency supersedes the former Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. CEFIA’s mission
is to help ensure Connecticut’s energy security and community prosperity by realizing its environmental and economic opportunities through clean energy finance and investments. As the nation’s first full-scale clean energy finance authority, CEFIA will leverage public and private funds to drive investment and scale-up clean energy deployment in Connecticut.
FM World Charities
www.fmworldcharities.org
FM World Charities is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization devoted to promoting public health and improving the quality of life in underserved communities throughout the world. FM aims to increase awareness of issues pertaining to public health and wellness while also providing basic primary care to those without access to healthcare. Having roots in an established record label with charity at its core, FM World enlists celebrities and media personalities to accomplish its goals and projects.
HeadCount
HeadCount is a grassroots organization that uses the power of music to register voters and raise political consciousness. Since 2004 we’ve staged voter registration drives at over 2,000 concerts and signed up over 175,000 voters. We reach young people and music fans where they already are – at concerts and online – to inform and empower.
The Innocence Project
www.innocenceproject.org
The Innocence Project is a national organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice.
New England Organ Bank
The New England Organ Bank (NEOB) is the oldest independent organ procurement organization (OPO) in the country. It is the federally-designated OPO for all or part of the six New England states. In addition to this regional coverage, NEOB provides services to Bermuda.Through its nine regional offices, NEOB serves twelve transplant centers with the combined capacity to perform all types of organ transplantation. NEOB allocates organs for transplant regionally and nationally through the United Network for Organ Sharing’s (UNOS) national network.
Oxfam America
www.oxfamamerica.org
Oxfam America is an international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice. Together with individuals and local groups in more than 90 countries, Oxfam saves lives, helps people overcome poverty, and fights for social justice.
Save the Sound
Save the Sound, a program of Connecticut Fund for the Environment, is dedicated to the restoration, protection, and appreciation of the Long Island Sound region through advocacy, education and research. Save the Sound cleans up beaches, builds fish ladders and successfully defends the Sound from multi-national oil companies.
Solar Bus
Stop by the Solar Bus and step into the world of renewable energy! Recharge your cell phone with the sun at our solar charging station! We’ll have all kinds of educational displays set up for you to interact with, including a solar water fountain, solar toy car and airplane, solar fans, solar psychedelic toys, and much more. At night we’ll be showing solar powered movies. At 10am on Saturday and Sunday we have ‘Solar 101′ classes where you can learn about solar energy and how to run a car on vegetable oil. We also give tours of the bus all day long and have a library and reading lounge, so stop by anytime to learn about solar energy! The Solar Bus is also one of several places you can sign up to join the Green Vibes Carbon Cutters – a group of Vibes folks collectively working to reduce our carbon footprint. See you at the Solar Bus!
The Terrapin Foundation
The Terrapin Foundation believes that through the Arts we can nurture the communities in which we live and thus change the world one community at a time.
The Wharf Rats
The Wharf Rats are a group of concert goers who have chosen to live drug and alcohol free. Our primary purpose at shows is to make ourselves available to anyone who feels we may have something they want. We don’t tell others how to attend their show. We offer clean and sober support, strength, fellowship and hope. We are not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous or any other twelve-step group. We are a group of friends sharing a common bond. Look for the yellow flags, signs and the Wharf Rats information table.
World Peace Sanctuary
The World Peace Sanctuary is the international HQ of the Peace Pole Project, Peace Pals International, and the World Peace Flag Ceremony. Through these programs we promote the universal message: May Peace Prevail On Earth Please visit our booth to register your kids in the international Peace Pals Art Exhibition and to learn about free peace art projects! Join us Sunday morning at 11:40 to carry a flag in the World Peace Flag Ceremony on the main concert field!
WPKN
WPKN-FM is a listener-supported, non-commercial radio station broadcasting at 10,000 watts on 89.5 Mhz FM in Bridgeport, CT. The station also broadcasts to the bulk of Fairfield and New Haven Counties in Connecticut, Suffolk County in New York (Long Island) as well as parts of Rhode Island. The station dates back to the early 1960’s when it was affiliated with the University of Bridgeport. For the past 15 or so years, WPKN has not been affiliated with UB, but broadcasts from facilities located on the campus. WPKN’s programming is a cornucopia of genres and styles.
