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Winter Tour ended with the start of the COVID-19 crisis, and we missed not making it to the Northwest, but we are very excited about the work from Winter Tour and the amazing organizations we were able to support. Since New Year’s White Light Foundation has donated over $19,000 to 22 different charitable organizations thanks to Twiddle’s $1 per ticket initiative. In addition to that with the onset of COVID-19 $4,000 has been donated to organizations dedicated to supporting musicians and crew members. We are honored to work with Twiddle and the amazing community around the band who enable us to make a difference. Love Relentlessly

We hope everyone’s 2020 is off to a great start. Traditionally, this is a quiet time for the White Light Foundation and while outwardly this year has been no different, behind the scenes tells a different story.

2020 is shaping up to be a year of milestones. Twiddle is celebrating fifteen years as a band and we are celebrating five as a foundation! 2020 has already seen us eclipse the $200,000 mark for grants and, by the end of winter tour, we anticipate that we will have written over 200 grants since our incorporation. By the time you are reading this we will likely have eclipsed 5,000 Facebook likes, and if we haven’t, what are you waiting for? You might be Sweet Number 5(k). Tumble Down will be celebrating its 5th anniversary and plans are well on their way to make it the most impactful one yet for WLF. So, what’s going on between now and then? Well, if January is any indication, it is going to be a very generous road to the Waterfront.

Thanks to all of you who attended the Paradise and House of Blues, and the generosity shown through Facebook and online, we are thrilled to donate $3,500 in support of the Boston shows.

We are donating $3,000 to Backline on behalf of our amazing community to support Backline’s important mission, “to connect music industry professionals and their family members with a trusted network of mental health and wellness providers.”

We are also excited to donate $500 to Boston Medical Center’s Vision 2030 to support their initiatives including behavior health and substance abuse programs. The donation to the Boston Medical Center is made in honor of our dear frend, Dylan Abbott, who is celebrating 3 years of sobriety by running this year’s Boston Marathon!

With Twiddle’s Winter Tour we are turning our focus to children’s charities for the next few months. Twiddle has generously agreed to provide Frankenfoote coloring books in each town. To start things off with the first “Somewhere on the Mountain” shows in Frisco, Colorado, we are thrilled to announce we are donating $1,500 to FIRC (Family & Intercultural Resource Center) of Silverthorne and Breckenridge, Colorado. “Through education and support, FIRC helps families make healthy choices and provide an environment for children to thrive.”

Last week Twiddle returned to Washington D.C. to a sold out crowd and we are honored to provide Horton’s Kids Community Resource Center. with a donation of $1,500. Horton’s Kids, “empowers children growing up in one of Washington, DC’s most under-resourced communities so that they graduate from high school ready for success in college, career, and life.”

Love Relentlessly,
Steve

We are thrilled to announce and honored to support the final group of charities nominated by this incredible community and with it the end of our most successful Month of Giving yet. Thanks to Danny Steinman’s Jam Art for partnering with us and re-imagining our logo in such a meaningful way. Thank you Twiddle for inspiring such an incredible community and filling it with music and light. And of course, thanks to all of you – who nominated a charity, shared your passion for giving and supported WLF throughout this campaign. The following organizations will all receive a grant for $750:

The Nowell Family Foundation nominated by Jessica Cook. The Nowell Family Foundation is raising funds to open Bradley’s House, a six-bed recovery facility that will provide treatment for people in the music industry with opiate addiction, regardless of their financial situation.

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation nominated by Danny Dolenk. The CF Foundation is the world’s leader in the search for a cure for cystic fibrosis, and nearly every CF-specific drug available today was made possible with our financial support.

Shatterproof nominated by Stefanie Raichelson. Shatterproof is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to reversing the addiction crisis in the United States.

Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation nominated by Sara Paladini. Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) is changing the lives of children with cancer by funding impactful research, raising awareness, supporting families and empowering everyone to help cure childhood cancer.

VT Dog Rescue nominated by Heidi, Dave, Jamie and Cassidy Bouchard. VT Dog Rescue does is run entirely by devoted volunteers who share their time and energy to make a positive difference in the lives of the dogs we rescue.

The Vermont Coalition of Runaway & Homeless Youth Programs nominated by Trish Sullivan. VCRHYP is a coalition of 10 service providers working together to guarantee the existence of a statewide safety net for runaway and homeless youth.

Butterflies from Jodie nominated by Judy Barron. Donating monetarily and physical defibrillators annually Butterflies From Jodie donates 100% of proceeds to charities and public locations in honor of Jodie.

Lupa Zoo nominated by Michael MD Fusco. Lupa Zoo is a 20 acre conservation and education institution in Ludlow MA demonstrating the value, beauty and interdependence of all living things.

Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sports nominated by Phil Goss Parmastahir. Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sports is committed to empowering individuals with disabilities. We promote independence and further equality through access and instruction to sports and recreational activities.

Grateful Doggies Rescue Family nominated by Katie Irwin. Grateful Doggies Rescue Family is a family of people dedicated to bettering the lives of dogs.

Long Island Alzheimer’s and Dementia Center nominated by Danny Steinman’s Jam Art. The mission of Long Island Alzheimer’s and Dementia Center is to help improve the quality of life for individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and related memory disorders, and their caregivers.

Hi-5 Sports nominated by Constance Burroughs. The mission of Hi-5 Sports is to provide sport training, competition, and social events for individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities.

Adaptive Adventures nominated by Charley Connor. Mission to provide progressive outdoor sports opportunities to improve quality of life for children, adults and veterans with physical disabilities and their families.

Love Relentlessly.

The White Light Foundation Charity Hockey Game on 12/21/19 in Manchester VT at Northshire Civic Center – Riley Rink at Hunter Park was a huge success!! Many thanks to the players, Riley Rink and the amazing volunteers in the Twiddle community who have made this event a reality. Through your efforts we were able to raise $3,000 with all proceeds going directly to two amazing local charities making a difference in the Manchester community:

Manchester Community Food Cupboard whose mission is to ensure everyone in our community has access to nutritious food and resources that will help them to achieve their potential.

Northshire United Counseling Service, who are building a stronger community by empowering individuals and families to live healthy and meaningful lives.

We are thrilled to announce White Light Foundation’s Month of Giving has begun! Thanks to the generous fundraising, donations and support, we have almost $24,000 of grants to distribute to over 30 charities! This grants are a testament to the energy and spirit of the Twiddle community and the inspiration of the music itself.

We would like to thank everyone who took the time to nominate a charity, supported us online and at events. Because of you we are able to donate more than double of what we granted last year and at $750 per charity, a far cry from the $100+ we donated in our first year. Thank you Danny Steinman’s Jam Art for donating his creativity and helping us drive $12,000 of our total donation amount. We would like to thank a very generous (anonymous) donor who matched $5,000 of our fundraising. We would also like to thank the 100’s of individual donors who nominated us for birthdays, chose us as recipients of a monthly contribution or surprised us with a donation. Because of all of you, WLF is able to contribute and additional almost $7,000 to the Month of Giving.

It continues to amaze us how diverse and deserving the organizations you nominate are. Thank you for your thoughtful nominations.We are excited to announce our first wave of recipients for the Month of Giving. These 10 charitable organizations will each receive a $750 grant from the White Light Foundation.

Things of My Very Own, who provides crisis intervention services to children impacted by extensive abuse and/or neglect. Nominated by Melissa Wojcik & Gina Krosky-Rice.

Second Chance Thoroughbreds was nominated by Collette Kelly. They provide Off The Track Thoroughbreds (OTTBs) with a soft landing after the end of their racing careers by giving them ample rehabilitation and retraining, transitioning them to a new career.

The Boys & Girls Club of East Providence was nominated by Martin DeCosta. They seek to inspire, enable, educate, and reach out to all young people in East Providence, especially those who need us the most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens.

Children’s Tumor Foundation with a mission to drive research, expand knowledge, and advance care for the NF community. Nominated by James Jäeger

Chosen 300 – Homeless Outreach was nominated by Diane Lobel Holland. The purpose of this organization is to distribute meals & services to the homeless, providing pre-release classes to incarcerated persons, and afford positive value programs for inner-city youth.

Special Books by Special Kids, who seeks to normalize the diversity of the human condition under the pillars of honesty, respect, mindfulness, positivity and collaboration. Nominated by Sara Egan

Health Horizon International, which seeks to improve community health in the Dominican Republic. Nominated by Rachel Ferrer.

Chicago Period Project, was nominated by Mike Mellor. Their mission is to empower homeless and in-need people to experience their periods with dignity.

ANEW Place, who provide a holistic continuum of services for the homeless, centered in love and dignity, that foster growth, cultivate community engagement, and provide tools for lifelong change so that each person may start anew. Nominated by Andre Clark

The Center for Prevention of Abuse who look to help all people – women, men, and children – live free from violence and abuse. Nominated @Kelsey Keough

This Frendsgiving at the Capitol Theater in addition to our (non perishable) food drive to benefit Caritas of Port Chester, we have a very special project to debut. The Frankenfoote Coloring Book will be available next Friday at The Cap! Net proceeds will support the White Light Foundation’s initiative to benefit children’s programs and related non profit organizations. Coloring books will be available ONLINE beginning on 11/29. Twiddle would like to give a heartfelt shout out to Steve Perlah and the entire White Light Foundation, with extra special recognition of Dave Vertino and Katie Irwinning for make this coloring book perfect in every way. We love you guys, and all of our WLF volunteers! Additionally, we’re beyond grateful to each artist who volunteered their time and artistry to make this coloring book truly incredible. Thank you.

Love Relentlessly

Brian Bojo
Funksthetics + Daryl Johnson
Gregory Coye
Bourbon Sunday – Art by Nathaniel Deas
Jesse James DiSabato
Chris Gallen Design
David Gilmour & Shea Gilmour 💜💚
Half Hazard Press
Dustin Karr
Scraped Knee – Matt Leunig
Liz Sawyer Machette
James McGonigal
Trie Michaud
One Drop Design Studio
MYLA 😍
Brad Nord
Serlo Studios
Diverse Medium: The Art of John Shook
Chuck Sperry
Danny Steinman’s Big Picture
Kyle Travis Apocpoet Art
Vertino Studios
Caleb Williamson

Frendsgiving with Twiddle at the Capitol Theater is almost here and we could not be more excited. We are thankful to the combination of Diverse Medium: The Art of John Shook, Coda Davidson and Victor Guarneri who have outdone themselves with the second White Light Farms creation, Blueberry Tumble. The first 75 people who bring at least $15 in non-perishable food items to help us support Caritas of Port Chester will receive the white variant. Visit the WLF table for a chance to win an amazing gift from Diverse Medium & Coda and to purchase the purple Blueberry Tumble pin (LE 150) also to support Caritas. Love Relentlessly

Every December we hold our Month of Giving when we ask you – our Frends – to nominate local 501c3 organizations to receive grants. Last year we donated $11,000 to local opioid crisis charities. This year along with Twiddle, we are thrilled to announce a partnership with Pin Daddy (Danny Steinman’s Jam Art) who generously donated his time and art to help us reach a very lofty 2019 goal of donating over $25,000 to local charities nominated by you.

In the coming weeks we will be releasing a series of items featuring Danny’s WLF design. There will be limited edition pins in Danny’s distinctive style and then, with Twiddle, a limited timed offering of T-Shirts and Sweatshirts which will feature the WLF design on the back and Twiddle softball logo on the front. We will also be offering an open edition WLF pin variant at that time (pictured here). All orders will deliver before Christmas.

100% of the net proceeds of this campaign will go to local charities with 80% supporting the month of giving and 20% going to the White Light Scholarships at Castleton University. And, if that is not enough, thanks to many of you and your birthday fundraisers, community efforts like WLF variants and fan art and auction proceeds (or just random acts of kindness), the foundation is in position to match $10,000. Any donations during this time will increase the match.

So, let’s get the nominations started – please share with us local organizations important to you. They do not have to be a specific cause (we are not limiting it to the opioid crisis for example) but they do need to be 501c3 domestic public charities and cannot have been recipients of direct fundraising at a White Light Foundation event (let’s spread the love around). On this Facebook post enter the name, website/facebook/instagram link or send it to us at whitelightfoundation@gmail.com.

We will limiting the number of charities to 31 per $10,000 raised and if we receive more nominations than we can accommodate, we will randomly select from the list of organizations and the other charities will be included in our next campaign.

Please make sure you like/follow our page as announcements, drops and previews will come from here.

Love (The Month of Giving) Relentlessly.

The “Frankenfoote Coloring Book” is coming this Frendsgiving at The Capitol Theatre. White Light Foundation will use the net proceeds to benefit youth and children’s programs around the country, both financially and through Frankie Coloring Books!

With a lull in the schedule we are going to be focused on what’s next. We are working with Twiddle on a couple of things and can’t wait to share them with you. And while we look forward, we invite you to take a look at what was … we have added some recent (and not so recent) products to our store. Thank you for looking.