[via: Channel Canada]

Production Begins on CTV Documentary as Nelly Furtado Joins Artbound and Free The Children in Kenya to Build the First Free The Children Arts School

Posted on Monday, January 31, 2011 – 10:52 AM

CTV, in association with Artbound and Free The Children, announced today that production is underway on a new documentary featuring multi Grammy and Juno Award winner Nelly Furtado. The documentary will chronicle Artbound’s first assignment in Kenya as 20 young professionals including Artbound’s Honorary Chair Seamus O’Regan, Global Ambassador Dayle Haddon, and Free The Children’s founder Craig Kielburger, head to Kenya on a Me to We Trip, to build Free The Children’s first arts school. An air date has not yet been announced. “The arts have the power to inspire children and see themselves and their world differently,” said Nelly Furtado. “My goal is to help raise awareness for this incredible new, Canadian-based organization that stands to make an incredible difference in the lives of young people and their communities in places like Kenya and other developing nations.” “We are thrilled to have Nelly Furtado join Artbound’s first assignment,” said Seamus O’Regan, Honorary Chair, Artbound and co-host, CANADA AM. “We hope her involvement inspires other artists in Canada and around the world to work with Artbound.” With the end goal of creating sustainable change in developing countries through the arts to help break the cycle of poverty, Artbound’s three-part mandate is: first, to enrich students by teaching them various art forms – including arts and crafts, visual arts, pottery, music, dance and drama; second, to empower students by providing them with platforms to showcase their talent and generate a sustainable source of funding; and third, to engage a local and global audience to take action through financial support or volunteer work that will directly improve the lives of the students. Artbound Artbound is a non-profit volunteer initiative in support of Free The Children. It was founded by a group of passionate individuals who believe that the arts have the power to create sustainable social change in the lives of underprivileged children. The Artbound team will travel to developing countries annually and build schools that are dedicated to the arts – institutions that will be fully integrated as part of existing Free The Children programs aimed to combat child poverty. Artbound is extremely grateful for the generous support of its key partners – Scotiabank, Horizons ETF, CTV and Haddon Strategy. For more information on Artbound please visit www.artbound.ca. Free The Children Free The Children is the world’s largest network of children helping children through education, with more than one million youth involved in innovative education and development programs in 45 countries. Founded in 1995 by international child rights activist Craig Kielburger, Free The Children has a proven track record of success. Through the energy and passion of youth, Free The Children has built more than 650 schools around the world, providing education to over 55,000 children every day. The organization has received the Rights Award from the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations, and has formed successful partnerships with leading school boards and Oprah’s Angel Network. For more information please visit www.freethechildren.com

So you wanna learn to play guitar do ya?

Then why not learn from a member of a genuine international rock band? At Troubadour Entertainment you can do just that. Jeremy Gontier, bassist for the emerging Canadian band Sterling, provides one-on-one, personalized lessons for students of all levels. With over thirteen years of teaching experience and having received top honors from the Royal Conservatory of Music, Jeremy is a truly gifted instructor. While continuing to work with Sterling on their next album, Jeremy has been collaborating with derooted creative agency to spread his passion for guitar to the masses. Derooted has developed a strategy involving social networking sites and a guerilla poster campaign to expand Troubadour’s exposure and help Jeremy spread the love. The colourful posters are eye-catching, clever, and reflect the essence and attitude of the guitar. To find more about Troubadour Entertainment or to contact Jeremy please visit  Troubadour Entertainment

Wow what a beautiful Sunday afternoon here in Toronto : Friday nights “back to the 80′s” charity fundraiser was an absolute success. Derooted studios are ecstatic and proud to be a part of this initiative. Who knew an 80′s theme was just what the doctor ordered. We raised a whopping $150,000 to build the first project, the Artbound Art School in Kenya, Africa. Truly incredible! No seriously. It was off the proverbial hook.

The star studded list included such names as former MP & Canadian businessperson, philanthropist Belinda Stronach, Free the Children founder and co-founder of Me to We. Craig Kielburger, CTV’s rising star Seamus O’Regan, ETalk darling Tanya Kim, Federal MP (former Minister of Education) Gerard Kennedy, Super hot MTV Host Aliya-Jasmine Sovani as well as the much much adored  MuchMusic VJ’s Sarah Taylor, Liz Trinnear and Jesse Giddings.

Every last cent will go into start construction of our first Art School in Kenya by the end of this year. To get involved or learn more about the initiative, click here.

Here’s a video clip of the event. Stay tuned for more news on Artbound and keep your ears to the ground for more events.

I received several emails in response to Friday nights event this morning in which I think worthy of quoting from a number of dedicated individuals involved with this phenomenal  project;

_____________________________________________________________________________

Seamus O’Regan (CTV) writes:

“Isn’t it an amazing thing when months and months of hard work actually produces something people will remember for years to come?
Oh, yeah – we also raised $150,000 for an arts school in Africa!
.”

S
(You thought my hair was wild last night? You should see it now…)
_____________________________________________________________________________

Marcello Cabezas (Mac Ideas) writes:

“something happened last night. It was like a shift. Everyone there really felt part of something big. While there is a committee and core group behind this, I have never been to something where EVERYONE in attendance felt part of this journey. It was genuine and real, and beautiful to see. Not contrived. But very real. Everyone wanted to let their hair down and just feel free. To laugh, to dance, to create. I have never been to anything like that before. It was amazing. In terms of the event, it was pretty much flawless, on all levels“

_____________________________________________________________________________

Jason Dehni (Scotia Bank) writes:

“What can I say other than that was by far the most incredible fundraiser I have ever been to! Truly. Congratulations to the entire pARTy Committee for hosting, what will be, the most talked about event of the year!!!”

_____________________________________________________________________________

Zark Fatah writes:

“In my professional career I’ve hosted / promoted some fun events. Last nights party was hands down one of the best parties I have ever had the pleasure of being a part of.

The vibe, music, performances, costumes and bad hair were all totally awesome! Thank you for the opportunity to host this amazing event, my partners and I are stoked to do it again next year!

Congrats to all of you for throwing one heck of a party!”

_____________________________________________________________________________

OFFICIAL MEDIA LAUNCH

Artbound is a non-profit organization that is striving to end the cycle of poverty through art initiatives. Founded in 2009 in support of Free the Children, Artbound builds schools dedicated to the arts in developing countries. Their mandate is to enrich and empower the students, and engage a global audience to take action through financial support or volunteer work. They also strive to raise greater awareness as to the plight of the children in these developing countries.

Derooted is excited to be working with Artbound to help get their message out and their initiatives noticed. They recently redesigned the organizations website with great success. The result is a site that’s easy to navigate, maintains their identity, and highlights the organizations mandate, and the importance of their work.

Derooted is also proudly sponsoring The Party – celebrating the power of the arts on September 24. For more information about Artbound and the Party visit artbound.ca